Windwalker: Heart of A Starhawk
by Snapegirlkmf
Summary: Kyra, Wraith & Qui-Gon return on a mission to save the Starhawks from a bitter betrayal, that almost costs Ilaren her life. Taryn, Qui-Gon's rebellious 10-year-old nephew, follows them, seeking adventure & a chance to prove he's Starhawk material FINISHED
1. Chapter 1

**Temple of the Jedi, Coruscant eight years before **_Phantom Menace:_

Kyranon Jinn was awake before the first rays of the pale sun had touched the tops of the trees in the lush Temple gardens. The fifteen-year-old Windwalker and former Starhawk officer was already limbering up her muscles for her morning practice routine. She had gone through the same ritual since she had first had a practice blade placed in her small hand at five years old. Tall and with a grace that rivaled the hunting cats of her home planet of Salishar, Kyra ignited her vibroblade and stood in the center of the training arena.

Bringing the glowing emerald blade parallel to the floor, she spoke the ritual blessing to the seven warrior gods in the circle she worshipped. "Honor to my sword and Thee." She whipped her curved blade up, nearly touching her head in a formal salute. Then she glided back in the first set of basic forms, the ones a new recruit of the Starhawks learned as part of his or her basic instruction. Thrust. Parry. Riposte. Lunge, back and forward. Kyra had long gone beyond such elementary moves, but she still practiced them as a warm-up exercise.

By the time she had danced her way through the basic forms, barely even breathing hard, her blade glittering in the light of the arena, and had just begun on the master-level sword forms, she heard a discreet cough behind her. Shifting directions in midair, Kyra twirled herself around, her blade spinning out in a perfect thrust to face her father, Master Qui-Gon Jinn, who had entered the arena to observe her practice.

"Nicely done." He smiled his approval.

Kyra returned his smile. "Care to test your luck, sir?"

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "Think you're up for it, apprentice?"

"Always." Kyra nodded, her blue eyes sparkling with challenge.

"We'll see." The Jedi Master ignited his own lightsaber, a brilliant green blade, and glided forward, his own eyes hardening with concentration.

Kyranon watched warily, too experienced to lunge at the master warrior, leaving herself exposed to his lightning quick moves. She had seen him spar before with Obi-Wan, but never before had she offered him the chance to spar with her until now.

Qui-Gon spun his blade in a lazy circle, taunting her, trying to draw her out. Kyra knew it, refusing to be drawn, she blocked the blow, bringing her vibroblade up to meet his with a sharp hiss.

"That the best you've got?" she teased, moving backwards, her sword held across her body.

"Impudent brat!" her father scolded. "You need a lesson in manners." Then he came at her, moving with the agility of a Lemboran viper, his saber slashing down in powerful overhand chop.

Kyranon met the blow, wincing at the ache in her wrists. Qui-Gon was done playing, she sensed. Now he fought her in deadly earnest, no quarter given. Not that the Windwalker expected any. She spun away, using the Force to make her preternaturally swift.

She counterattacked, meeting his combination with her own, the Tempest matched the Lightning's Fury. The two swords crackled, spitting sparks, and Kyra went low, ducking Qui-Gon's return thrust.

The Jedi Master reversed his strike, his saber blurring, hoping to catch her unawares. But Kyra had not been trained by the best swordswoman in the Starhawks for nothing. She read his intent before he had completed the move and in less than half a second she used the Force to leap over him, bringing her blade back in a powerful reverse thrust that nearly caught Qui-Gon off-guard.

Only his Force-sensitive nerves warned him in time, allowing the older warrior to dodge her perfectly executed strike. The Jedi stepped back, bringing his blade up as she spun about to face him.

He grinned his approval of her bold move, then he lunged at her, moving at twice the speed he had been before. Kyra gave ground before his furious assault, her blade weaving a seamless defense, keeping his saber from touching her by mere inches. _Gods in a circle, but he's blasted quick. And using seventh-level forms too._ The Windwalker found her breath coming in sharp pants now, as the Master pressed his attack.

Kyranon was a fifth-level swordfighter, close to sixth, and her mastery of the Force enabled her to execute some of the techniques Qui-Gon demonstrated, but she was not quite up to that level of mastery yet. Still, it was not in her to admit defeat easily, not even when met with superior skill.

The Windwalker allowed her father to drive her back for a few more feet, lowering her blade a fraction, making the older warrior think he had exhausted her. She saw Qui-Gon's eyes twinkle, as he moved to finish her.

Kyra went down to one knee, then moving like a cat, she dropped her left shoulder and twisted, somersaulting back and away.

It was a maneuver that only someone trained by the Jedi could have executed, and had she been off her timing by a millisecond, his sword would have hit her unprotected back, stinging her sharply. But Kyra was one with the Force, and she ducked under Qui-Gon's blow and escaped the trap he had tried to spring on her with consummate grace.

In the next second, Kyra had landed on her feet, gaining herself maneuvering room to launch an attack of her own. Emerald blade hissing, she came at her father in a maneuver called the Tiger Strike, her vibroblade twirling in a deadly pattern that swept aside all but the most determined blows.

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow in astonishment. He had not been expecting that. The girl was good, almost his equal. _In a few more years she'll match me. One day she'll be my master with a sword._ He parried her onslaught, stepping back quickly. But that day was not yet. Flashing her a grim smile, he countered her sword-form with a blinding slash called the Iron Wall, a maneuver that would block all but the most advanced sword-forms.

The shock of the saber meeting her own blade nearly caused the Windwalker to lose her grip on her weapon. Only her reflexes saved her. Parrying, Kyra stepped back, her eyes widening in awe. "How did you do that?"

"Experience." The other answered, attacking relentlessly. "Looks like you don't know everything, right?"

Kyra parried, acknowledging his words with a nod. The blue-eyed warrior met his attacks fearlessly, giving ground but not surrendering. Her arms ached from meeting his blows, for the Jedi Master was not pulling them as he normally did when he sparred with a student. Kyra was too good with a blade for him to give her that kind of consideration. But that was all right. An enemy would not have done her any favors, and she expected him to be hard on her. Only by being so would she improve.

Gritting her teeth, she met his thrust with a cross block, keeping his blade from her vulnerable throat by inches. She felt her arms tremble with the effort of holding his saber away. Then she disengaged, spinning her foot around in a snap kick at his knee.

Qui-Gon hopped back, avoiding her foot by a millimeter. "Clever, very clever, girl." Then he twitched a finger at her, and she found herself thrown halfway across the arena by his Force-generated will.

She rolled to her feet, bruised but undaunted. She had forgotten that the Force could be his ally as well as her own. He landed in front of her in a crouch, the lightsaber painting his face in a lurid green glow, making him appear like a demon. His sword came down in a fierce swipe, forcing her to parry awkwardly.

"Had enough yet?" he queried.

She shook her head stubbornly. "See you in hell first . . .sir." she spat, adding the honorific at his glare. Then she brought her sword up and about, driving him back.

"Stubborn." He reproved. Then he grinned. "Very well. Defend yourself." He stepped up his attacks another notch, thinking, _I haven't faced such an opponent since Mace Windu. Or Ilaren, five years ago. And she's less than half their age and almost as skilled! What will she become years from now?_

The best warrior he had ever seen.

The two warriors fought even more fiercely, moving all over the arena, grace and power incarnate. For several more minutes the only sound in the arena was the hiss of lightsaber and vibroblade and the sharp breath of the combatants. Back and forth they glided, the dance of swords executed with matchless skill, a hymn of everlasting praise to the seven war gods of Salishar.

Sweat soaked their tunics, stung their eyes, but neither warrior even considered quitting. Half-an-hour had passed, enough time for both fighters to feel the sharp ache of weary muscles, but they had transcended mere physical discomfort, too caught up in their contest to feel the pain.

Then Kyra miscalculated a thrust, a tiny mistake, but enough to allow a master swordsman like Qui-Gon an opening. His blade stung her wrist, leaving a red mark to remind her of her carelessness. She took the blow with a warrior's stoic acceptance, shrugging away the sharp pain.

Then she counterattacked, trying to sneak past his guard with the Mongoose's Tooth, a sideways, twisting maneuver that used her opponent's own blade against him. But Qui-Gon was too wise to be trapped, and danced away.

They fought for several more minutes, neither willing to admit they were growing tired. Kyra had caught the Jedi with a well-timed thrust on the shoulder, leaving a black scorch mark on the fabric of his tunic. Qui-Gon came after her relentlessly, his blade a mere flicker, using combinations she had never seen, much less learned how to counter.

She defended as well as she could, but her knowledge and quickness was not enough this time. At last he backed her into a corner, and using his greater strength, overwhelmed her with one well-timed kick that knocked her on the ground. His sword battered hers away then came to rest lightly at her throat.

"Match, young one."

"Acknowledged, sir." Then she smiled. He held out a hand and helped her up. "Mother said you could fight. Guess she wasn't exaggerating."

Qui-Gon switched off his lightsaber. "I haven't used forms like that against a student in years. I never needed to." He stretched lightly. "Well done, Kyra. In a few more years you'll be my equal, if this practice was any example."

She stared at him in astonishment. "Really?"

"Absolutely. Few among the Masters come close to matching you, except Master Windu and myself. And perhaps Master Yoda. You honor your sword, young Windwalker."

"Thank you, Father." The girl said. She rubbed her wrist, massaging away the sting. "That'll teach me to pay attention when I fight a master swordsman." She glanced up at the tall Master. "Will you practice with me everyday?"

"If I am able, yes." He agreed. "You sharpen my skills. I was growing a bit, ah, rusty fighting only students. And so were you."

"Yeah. It's nice to have someone to challenge me again. At home, Mother was the only one who could beat me." Kyra said reminiscently. "The week before I left Hawk Haven we sparred and she kicked my butt worse than you did."

"I can imagine. Ilaren was always a tough opponent. Both on and off the practice field." Qui-Gon acknowledged with a laugh, remembering the fiery Commander of the Starhawks with a fond smile.

"When you sparred, who won?"

The Jedi Master shrugged. "We were about even. She won sometimes and so did I. After awhile we stopped keeping score and sparred for the fun of it. But she was as stubborn as you. She never admitted I had her until I knocked her sword out of her hand. She used to say, a warrior is never beaten until you have her weapon and even then she can still come back and kick your ass if you don't kill her right away."

"Gods in a circle, is that ever true." Kyra agreed. "Once I thought I had won a match when I disarmed her, and I lowered my blade, thinking she was going to surrender. Instead she came up and kicked me right in the jaw, took back her blade and stomped me into the ground."

"You too, huh?" Qui-Gon gave her a sympathetic grin. "She did that to me once. I ended up flat on my back with her sword at my throat before I could blink. I never underestimated her again. No one can fight like Ilaren."

"Not yet, but someday . . .I will." Kyra said quietly.

"I don't doubt it." Her father said. "Now, why don't we go and get some breakfast?"

"The kitchens aren't open yet." Kyra reminded.

"That's right." Qui-Gon nodded. "I ought to know that by now." He frowned at himself.

Kyra thought for a moment. "Hey, Mother used to tell me stories about some camping trips you two used to go on. She said you used to make some wicked blueberry waffles. Think you can remember how, Father?"

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at her insolent tone. "I think so . . .if a certain apprentice minds her mouth and asks me politely."

"Please, sir?"

"All right. Come on then." He led the way to the large kitchens at the back of the Temple. "Watch and learn."

"I hear and obey, Master." Kyra said with a wink. Qui-Gon began to mix flour, eggs, and milk into a bowl. "Where'd you learn to cook anyway?"

"Your grandmother taught me." He answered, removing a can of blueberries from the pantry. "When I was around five, I think. Before I was tested and came to the Temple. That's one of the few memories I have of her. She was always cooking something. And my brothers, Sarin, Mellin ,and I used to try and sneak tastes of her cooking when her back was turned."

"Did she ever catch you?"

"Yes. She used to whack our hands with her spoon. Then she'd laugh and give us what we wanted anyway." The Jedi Master admitted with a wry chuckle. "Funny, I haven't thought about that in over twenty years." He poured the batter in the heated waffle iron.

"I never knew you had brothers."

"Two of them. They were older. Mellin, he was a wanderer, he became a trader and he left home as soon as my father said he could. He owns a shipping business now. Sarin, he was the oldest, and he was always bossy, he liked to give Mellin and me orders. Mellin, he never minded, he was always easy-going. But I never took orders well. I used to tease him until he lost his temper. Once he threatened to throw me off the observation tower if I didn't shut my smart mouth."

"Oh, is _that_ where I get it from?" Kyra asked sagely.

"Unfortunately, yes." Qui-Gon admitted. "Sarin became governor eventually, so he could order around everyone officially. He could be arrogant, but he had a good heart." He removed the waffles and put them on a plate. "Here you go. I think I remembered what my mother taught me."

Kyra took the plate, sniffing the aroma of blueberries. She poured syrup over them, and took a bite. "Mmmm. These are heavenly."

"Nice to know I haven't lost my touch." Her father said, making some more.

"Do you ever see your brothers now that you're a Jedi?" Kyra asked, swallowing a mouthful of waffle.

"I still see Mellin on occasion." Qui-Gon answered. "But your uncle Sarin was killed by political malcontents a year or so ago, him and his wife. I arrived too late to prevent his death." The Jedi's eyes were dark with sorrow. "The most I could do was rescue his son Taryn, your cousin. He was nine at the time. Sarin made him run and hide when the partisans attacked the palace. I found him after it was over. Since I was the closest relative he had left, I took him back with me to the Temple."

"He's a Jedi like you?"

Qui-Gon shook his head. "No. He has no Force talent." The Jedi Master sighed, carrying his own breakfast to the table. "What he does have is a talent for trouble. I think Sarin and Anandra were too busy with their careers to give him the attention and discipline they should have. And now he's become, I hate to say it, a spoiled little brat."

"Where is he now?"

"With Mellin. He offered to give me a break, took him off on one of his trading cruises last spring." The Jedi answered. "I was never so glad to see someone leave in my life."

"Was he that bad?"

Qui-Gon nodded. "I had to keep reminding myself that I was a Jedi Master, and control the urge to strangle him. I think he drove even Master Yoda crazy." He began to eat his own waffles.

"What did he do?"

"Whatever he could get away with. Once he hot-wired all the speeders in the temple and challenged some of the more daring apprentices to a contest like they do down in the tunnels of Coruscant. He crashed almost all of our bikes than he had the nerve to tell me it wasn't his fault! Another time he sneaked out the window and managed to get himself involved in a duel with a Tuskan Raider and a Gorgon. With laser knives for a hundred credit bet, no less. He said they insulted his honor." The Jedi shook his head. "He has no concept of restraint, and no forethought to speak of. Ideas and action are simultaneous with him. And he thinks that his rank as the son of a former governor absolves him of responsibility. Not all of my lecturing could make him change his mind."

Kyra listened intently. "He sounds like that highborn snot Rilyan I had a run in with three months ago. Seems to me he could use a good dose of Starhawk discipline."

Qui-Gon sighed. "I considered it, but I was afraid it would only make him more rebellious than he was already. And the last thing I needed was for him to run away and never come back. He is my nephew, after all, and I have a responsibility to look after him."

"What about Mellin? He's the kid's uncle too." Kyra reminded him.

"Mellin travels too much to be a proper guardian to Taryn. He'd have the same problem Sarin did, too little contact with the boy to correct his behavior."

"You travel too."

"True." Qui-Gon forked up another mouthful of waffle. "But when I'm here, I'll watch him like a hawk. And I'll do my best not to let him indulge in the kind of attitude Sarin allowed him to get away with. I think I'm the only adult who has ever set rules for him to follow, and while he might hate me for it now, one day he'll thank me for it. I hope." _If his reckless stunts let him make it as far as adulthood,_ Qui-Gon thought.

"I'm sure you'll knock him into shape eventually, Father." Kyra said cheerfully. "He's what, ten? You'll have plenty of time to make him learn manners."

"I think I'm going to need it. Wait until you meet him. You'll see what I'm talking about."

Kyra longed to tell her father that she could imagine what the little brat was like, and that she feared there would be trouble between them from the beginning, for if there was one thing the young Windwalker had no patience for it was spoiled brats. But she did not say so aloud, for Qui-Gon had enough to worry about.

Instead she said, "I thought most Jedi students didn't remember their families, or have much contact with them once they became Jedi."

"Most don't." Qui-Gon told her. "I was more fortunate than most to still have some remembrance of my younger years and my family. Some in the Order would say that my ties with my family distract me from my duty, but I think they are wrong. Personal relationships are important to a Jedi, for compassion is one of our greatest assets, the thing that sets us apart from our dark kin. You can't learn kindness and love as an abstract, it has to be experienced. And I learned how to love from my parents and siblings first. That was one of the most important lessons my mother ever taught me."

"That and how to make the best blueberry waffles in seven star systems." Kyra remarked, finishing the last one with a sigh of regret. "Mother was crazy to let you out of her sight. Any man who can cook and fight like you is too good to let get away."

Qui-Gon smiled. "Thanks for the compliment, little hawk. But I don't know of many warriors who have been put on a pedestal for making waffles."

"You do now." Kyra looked longingly at his plate, which still had a waffle on it.

"Here." He shoved the plate over to her. "You're growing, you need it more than I do."

Not about to refuse the Jedi's generosity, Kyra took the waffle and began to eat it. At that moment a great white vorcel hawk entered the room. This was Wraith, Kyra's bondmate. _"Good morning, Chosen, Master Qui-Gon."_

"Morning, Wraith." Qui-Gon greeted the hawk, who settled himself on the back of Kyra's chair soundlessly.

The bird eyed Kyra's waffle. _"Hey, greedy, let me have some."_

"You eat waffles?" Kyra cried in astonishment. "But you're a meat eater."

Wraith clicked his beak. _"Actually, I'm an omnivore. I eat fruits as well as meat. And those are Qui-Gon's waffles. I remember them from Salishar. Sirath and I used to eat them regularly. Remember, Qui-Gon?"_

"I do now that you mention it." He turned to Kyra. "Everytime I made them for your mother, Sirath and he used to come and beg some from me."

_"Beg!"_ Wraith screeched indignantly. _"Bite your tongue, Qui-Gon Jinn! I never begged anything in my life!"_

Qui-Gon slanted a wry grin at the hawk.. "Steal, then. Have it your way. However you want to describe it, you and Sirath used to snatch waffles from my plate when I wasn't looking."

_"It was fun!"_ Wraith chuckled. _"And you never managed to catch us, even with your Jedi powers. Vorcel hawks are simply too quick for mere humans."_ The hawk said smugly.

Kyra burst out laughing. "Gods in a circle, I would have loved to see that! It must have been hilarious."

"Ilaren certainly thought so." Qui-Gon smiled. "The first time they did that to me, she laughed so hard she almost fell off her chair."

_"And you thought it was funny too, admit it, Jedi Master!"_ Wraith trilled, lowering his head to accept a piece of waffle from Kyra's hand.

"All right, you incorrigible bird. It was quite amusing. Though you're lucky I have a sense of humor."

Wraith eyed the Jedi fondly. _"That's one of the things I like about you, Qui-Gon. You can laugh at yourself. And so can your daughter. You're not all the serious Master you seem to be on the outside. Which is a good quality to have, for no one, even a Jedi Master is perfect."_

"Or a vorcel hawk." Qui-Gon shot back.

Wraith gave a soft cry of agreement. _"But not for lack of trying." _He turned to his bondmate. _"Now if you are done with your breakfast, I have something new to teach you. Come, fly with me."_

The great hawk spread his iridescent white wings and soared into the air. Kyra glanced at Qui-Gon. "I'll do the dishes later, okay?" He waved her away. She rose to her feet, summoned a wind to her and soared into the air, flying after her hawk with the speed of a falcon.

That was one of the things she loved about being a Windwalker. The sheer freedom and joy of flight. She never tired of flying, it was as intoxicating as practicing with her sword and she counted her ability to fly as one of her greatest blessings. She nearly felt sorry for the Jedi, because though they too could manipulate the Force, they could not fly as a Windwalker could, becoming one with the wind and the sky. That power belonged to the Windwalkers alone, as they were granted mastery over winds and the lesser creatures of the air.

She shot out of the double doors of the Temple like a streak of light, trying to catch her bondmate, who dove and circled in the air quicker than thought. She swooped and dove, using the wind the way she would have a glider, to hold her in the air. It swirled about her, running over her with its icy tendrils, curling in her hair, tugging it loose from its braid to fly free like a honey-colored cape down her back.

Laughing she pursued the vorcel hawk across the sky, the Force flowing through her like a never-ending ribbon of light, linking her to all life there was. She perceived the Force as a silvery web, each strand marking an individual's life-energy, all interconnected. As a Windwalker, she could use that primal energy to tap into the web, and affect some of the life-energy she saw there if she chose. But she did that only when necessary, for a Windwalker's main duty was to keep the Balance between Light and Dark. To that end she wielded both sides of the Force, Dark and Light, becoming a Gray user.

It was a heavy responsibility, one that had made her serious beyond her years. But she knew that even a Windwalker needed time to relax, time to play like the adolescent she still was. And so she did, Wraith streaking about her head, teasing her, the vorcel hawk's mental laughter chiming like bells in her mind. For almost a half an hour the two played, content to simply be in each other's company, flying upon the wind, free as only a creature of the air could be.

Then at last Wraith settled down on a low-lying branch of a larch in the garden, his violet-blue eyes whirling in amusement. Kyra followed him, releasing her hold on the wind as soon as she was on the ground. She caught a glimpse of herself in the still pond that was next to the tree and gave a rueful grin. _Oh gods, look at my hair. What a mess! Guess it's a good thing there's no one here right now save Wraith to see. I look like Medusa._

Brushing back several golden strands that insisted on clinging to her face, the Windwalker seated herself beneath the tree, leaning back against the trunk. "Okay, Wraith. What do you have planned to show me today?"

The vorcel hawk was her main teacher in the lore of the Windwalkers and the use of her special powers, for only Wraith now remembered what she needed to know. Everyone else had forgotten the Windwalkers ever existed, even the Jedi. It had been over a thousand years since a Windwalker had been born, the Sith had killed them all long ago. For only a Windwalker could prevent the Dark Jedi from rising again and conquering the galaxy, subjugating all that lived to their cruel design. Betrayed by one of their own, the Windwalkers had fallen, their power and courage lost for centuries. Only the vorcel hawks who had been their bondmates now remembered the Windwalkers, the powerful warriors and healers, the protectors of all but especially the Jedi, their friends and cousins in the Light.

_"Today it is time you learned how to speak with the dead."_ The hawk answered calmly.

"What?" Kyra cried. She could not have been more shocked than if Wraith had told her to stab him with her vibroblade. "How by all that's holy can I do that?"

_"You know the Force connects all things." _Wraith began. _"You know that when a Force-user dies his or her spirit becomes one with life-energy that surrounds us. So the Jedi teach."_

"Yes, I've heard Master Yoda say that. He says that when a Jedi dies he achieves a final oneness."

_"Master Yoda is correct, in one sense. You see, a Force-user never truly dies, not the way most things do. They are reborn anew, blanketed in the living power. Their physical body is gone, but the spirit, what was once that person, remains. They drift within the Force, alive and not alive, unobserved but ever observing. They are aware of all futures and even the present. More than ever they were when they were alive."_

"So you're saying that when I die, I won't really cease to exist, but only become one with the Force forever?"

_"Yes, my young apprentice. And when you so choose, you may speak with those still living, to offer advice and comfort. Not all those who have died can do so, or are aware that they may do so. But we vorcel hawks rely on the memories and experiences of those who have gone before, that is how we discovered the spirits within the Force."_

"But the Jedi don't seem to know about this." Kyra pointed out.

_"That is so. We tried to explain to the Jedi long ago about the spirits of the dead, but they refused to listen. They maintained that the soul of a Force-user, once it has become one with the energy, cannot separate itself from it and act independently. In short, they do not believe the dead can speak and interact with the living. They are very much mistaken. For all vorcel hawks commune regularly with their ancestors, receiving from them their wisdom and knowledge."_

"So that's why you all seem so wise!"

Wraith nodded. _"That is our secret. Ours and the Windwalkers. Through your connection with the Force you can speak to all those Jedi and Windwalkers who have gone before, seeing glimpses of what has been and what might be. It is one way you can stay one step ahead of your own apprentice when you have one."_

"Me? But I thought I was the only Windwalker."

_"The first, yes. But not the only. There are others out there, young ones seeking to understand who and what they are, looking for their bondmates. Eventually it will be your task to locate them and teach them as I have taught you. Did you think to face the Sith Lords all by yourself?"_

"Well, no, but I thought the Jedi and you would be the only ones to help me. I never considered there would be others like me."

_"But there are. You are no longer alone, Windwalker. Someday there will be an academy for your kind, similar to the Jedi Order. And you shall be WindLady, leader of the Windwalkers, as of old."_ Wraith chirped at her alarmed expression._ "Don't look so alarmed, Chosen. That time is not yet, and you still have much to learn. Now, as I was saying, a Windwalker can speak with the dead. You can only speak with one who is willing to communicate, and usually the one you summon will only give you as much information as he or she deems necessary. The dead know much the living _do_ not, but only a portion of that knowledge may be revealed, for the Balance must be maintained in all things. Sometimes too much knowledge is as bad as too little."_

"So how do I talk to these spirits?"

_"You enter a meditation trance. And you must request their presence very respectfully, some of the spirits are very cranky and don't like being disturbed merely to answer a pesky apprentice's questions."_ The hawk informed her. _"I suggest you start with Windwalker Salicia Dahl, she is a patient sort and is always willing to speak with her descendants."_

"And I'm her descendant? How do you know that?"

_"I have spoken with her, of course. She is related to you on your mother's side. You have Windwalker talent on both sides of your family, you know, so we weren't surprised when you inherited that talent."_

"Looks like you know more about me than I do myself." Kyra said shortly.

Wraith preened. _"As it should be, Chosen. I am your mentor, after all."_

Kyra rolled her eyes. "Gods save me from all-knowing bondmates." She too several breaths, calming her heart rate. "All right. When I speak with this Windwalker Dahl, what should I say?"

_"Greet her the way you would an honored elder on Salishar. She may reveal to you certain things on her own, things you will need to know. It's hard for me to tell you exactly what will happen, for each time you summon and speak with a spirit things are different. Sometimes, if there is great peril or need, a spirit will contact you directly. But that happens rarely. Most spirits do not interfere with the living unless asked."_

"Have you spoken to your spirit ancestors?"

_"Many times. They are wise, and know more than I do at this moment."_ Wraith admitted._ "Pay attention, young one. This is important. There are dark spirits as well as light. What one was in life, so he is in death. The dark spirits are part of the fabric of existence, and they too wait to be summoned. They will seek to find one who can speak with them, and sometimes, if they are strong enough, they will appear when not summoned. They will seek to cause discord and trouble, much as they did in life. Any advice they offer is not to be trusted, for it is twisted to suit their own ends. So beware, Windwalker, for the Dark seeks ever to destroy the Light."_

"How will I know if they are evil?"

_"You will know. The aura of a Dark Force-user cannot be hidden. As Darth Majestrix was when you fought him, so too will any dark spirit feel."_

"And if one comes to me, can I drive him away?"

_"You may refrain from speaking to it, but the spirits cannot be killed, and it is difficult to send one away once it has made up its mind to stay. Though if a dark one attaches itself to you, I think I can call upon some of my ancestors to help get rid of it. Hopefully, that will never be necessary. For now, concentrate on calling Windwalker Dahl."_

"As you will, Chosen." Kyra acquiesced, putting herself into a deep meditation trance.

She let her mind find the center of her power, the shimmering golden pool that radiated an unceasing level of warmth. She immersed herself in the golden lake, diving without hesitation into the middle of it. The Force surrounded her, filled her with its eternal song of harmony.

Cocooned in her power, Kyra reached out to the shining web of Force-users, noting now that some were dimmer than others, yet burning with a cool pale light. Those, she surmised, must be the spirits. _Windwalker Dahl, I, Kyranon Jinn, Windwalker, desire your wisdom._ She sent wordlessly, using her link with the Force to project her need through the astral plane. _Speak with me, great Lady, if you would be so inclined._


	2. Chapter 2

Wordlessly, Kyra called to the spirit again, requesting she come to speak with her descendant. She saw one of the pale strands shimmer briefly, as if it had awakened from a deep sleep. Then Kyra turned her sight outward, as the spirit of Windwalker Dahl sparkled into view.

_Greetings, Kyranon Jinn, Windwalker._ The spirit's voice was low and mellow, like velvet. She was a tall woman of about forty, her hair a reddish color that swirled about her as if blown by an unseen wind. She wore a strange tunic and pants of some silvery color, the sleeves nearly touching the ground, shaped like the wings of a bird. At her belt was a blaster and lightsaber. Her eyes glowed an uncanny blue.

Kyra started to bow before her, for the spirit Windwalker radiated an aura of power like none she had ever sensed before. It was stronger than even her own, a power so pure it sent shivers through her.

Windwalker Dahl held up a hand._ Do no homage before me, little sister. In life I was no more than you, a seeker of truth and protector of the Light. That I am one with the Force makes no difference to who I was. She_ eyed Wraith, who spread his wings and bowed. _Your bondmate does you honor, Master of the Skies. Now, what would you have of me, child? I have been asleep many many years before you called me._

"I'm sorry, I only woke you so I could practice talking to spirits." Kyra apologized.

The Windwalker ghost shook her head. _Please, don't apologize. I am glad you called me, I was half out of my mind with boredom. We don't truly sleep, you see only doze slightly. My only contact with the world now has been through dreams, and they are fragments at best. What has been going on in the world, child. Sense a great disturbance in the Force. The pattern shifts._

"The Sith are rising," Kyra told her, explaining how she had fought two of them and telling her how some of the Jedi doubted that their old enemies even existed, despite her words and battle on Tenendryn.

_They do not see clearly. For all their Force-sensitivity, they are blind to the truth. The Sith are hidden, but as a shadow is hidden by sunlight. Look another way and you can see the darkness coiling, waiting its proper time to emerge. But first you must be willing to see. Our brethren of the Light see part of the shadow, but not the grand design. Not yet. And by then it will be too late. The Jedi will realize this, to their sorrow. That has always been their greatest failing. They see in glimpses, and believe that is the whole picture. They see their own bright strength and think they are powerful enough to defeat any apprentice foolish enough to turn to the Dark Side._

"But the one I fought was not an apprentice, but a master." Kyra pointed out. "And there are more like him, I think."

_You are right, little sister. There are many more Sith, their shadow increases even here in the astral. Like a great black stain, it smothers the land, killing what remains of hope and light. And there are Sith Lords, masters of masters, who have long awaited their chance to seize the power they believe is theirs. They waited until their Jedi brethren were complacent, until they had forgotten such as they ever existed. Now they will strike, and the Light shall be drowned in the pool of Darkness. Beware, Windwalker! The Dark rises again. The Light falters. If the Shadow slays the Hawk, it will begin the reign of Night. The Jedi's chosen has been born, but Shadow wings hover over him, seeking his fragile soul. Protect that one, Windwalker, for he is the one foretold, the Champion of Light and Darkness._

"I don't understand. How can someone be the Champion of Light and Dark? And how can I protect someone if I don't know who he is?"

_You will know when it is time. And he is like you, with the potential to do both good and evil, but unlike you he has no hawk to guide him. You must be his conscience, little Kyranon. Else he will fall and doom the galaxy to a time of darkness. This I have seen. But for now, you must guard the Hawk, for the Shadow seeks to slay it, for they have long been enemies. Be wary, the Shadow walks unseen. Trust in your heart. And trust the Force. Farewell for now, Kyranon. May the Force be with you._

"Wait!" Kyra called. "What do you mean? You're speaking in riddles!"

But the spirit was gone, fading back into the astral ether from which she had come.

A frustrated Kyranon sat back against the tree with a sigh. "I don't understand, Wraith. What did she mean, guard the Hawk? Your people? But they're safe on Salishar. And how can I protect someone I don't know? Gods in a circle, but I hate prophecy! Why can't she just tell me straight out, instead of speaking in riddles like a two-bit fortune-teller?"

The hawk flew down to alight on her shoulder, rubbing his head against her cheek in a gentle caress. _"Perhaps because you must learn to see on your own, young one. The future is never constant. All cannot be known, but must be learned. You must be free to choose your own path, for only then will you understand. She warns, she does not instruct, for to do so would be to upset the Balance."_

"You're almost as bad as she is, Wraith!" Kyra growled.

_"Sorry. But you must figure this out on your own." _The vorcel hawk trilled, not at all remorseful. "You are a Windwalker, and that is part of your task."

"Oh, that's just wonderful. Now I not only have to protect the Jedi from the Sith, and some Hawk thing, now I have to unravel prophecy as well. Is there anything else you'd like to add to that list, Chosen? Like saving the whole damn galaxy before lunch maybe?"

_"Nothing is ever easy."_ Wraith said. "Have faith, wind-sister. The gods do not give you more than you can handle."

"I suppose not." The Windwalker sighed. "And if Mother were here, she'd give me a good smack and tell me to quit whining and do something about it." Kyra smiled wryly. "Maybe the Jedi have something in their archives that I can read. Is it permitted for me to speak of this prophecy to other people, O Wise Mentor?"

Wraith's blue-violet eyes whirled in amusement. _"It is. Though you may not reveal where you heard it. The speaking with the dead is a well-guarded secret, only Windwalkers may know of it."_

"I won't tell anyone. No one would believe me anyway." Kyra laughed. "If I didn't just have a conversation with her, I wouldn't believe it either." She yawned. "That took more out of me than I realized. I think I'll just lie here a minute and get my strength back."

The summoning and the vigorous sparring match she had engaged in with Qui-Gon had tired her more than she wanted to admit, and before she could stop herself, her eyes had closed. In a matter of minutes, Kyra had fallen asleep, her head resting against the trunk of the larch tree. Wraith fluffed his feathers and stood guard over her, preening himself softly. Sleep well, wind-sister. You're going to need it.

* * * * * *

She awoke some two hours later to her father's hand on her shoulder. "Kyra. Wake up."

"Huh?" she muttered, blinking sleepy blue eyes. "I fell asleep, didn't I? That wasn't supposed to happen." She scowled crossly.

Qui-Gon smiled. "I guess I tired you out more than I thought. But it's nearly time for your lessons with Master Andrilas." He reminded her, for her class with the master healer was one of the first she had that day.

"Thanks." She rose to her feet in a bound, brushing herself off. "I must be getting soft. Three months ago, I'd never have fallen asleep after a spar like that."

"But three months ago you weren't using the Force." Qui-Gon reminded. "That's as tiring as any physical activity, believe me."

_"Your father is right."_ Wraith added. _"What I just taught you is no novice exercise. I expected you to sleep afterwards. Even the Force demands a price."_

"And even Windwalkers are mortal." Kyra quoted.

"Count yourself lucky that you slept." The Jedi Master informed her. "For after this afternoon, you won't be getting much of it, I can tell you."

"Why?"

"Because today your cousin Taryn is coming back here. And unless a miracle has occurred, he's still the same troublemaker he was when he left. Which means he'll have the whole temple turned upside down five minutes after he gets off the transport, may all the gods listen!"

"I think I'm going on vacation back to Salishar." Kyra began.

"Oh no you don't!" Qui-Gon waved a stern finger at her. "I'm counting on you to help me keep him in line. Maybe he'll listen to you better than he does me."

Kyra groaned. But she couldn't refuse her father's request. _I think I spoke too soon. Now I not only have a prophecy to unravel and the Hawk to guard, I have a spoiled rich brat to deal with as well. I hope Wraith was right. That the gods truly don't give us more than we can handle. Or else they've got a damn wicked sense of humor._

"Got to run, else I'll be late." Kyra called, summoning a wind to her. "Don't worry, Father. I'll watch the little demon like a hawk, I promise." And if he tries any of his tricks with me, I'll give him a good swat. Probably just what he needs anyway. Then she flew back toward her rooms on the eastern end of the Temple pyramid, going to change before her healing lesson with Master Andrilas.

* * * * * *

Taryn Jinn was bored. He had been confined to the ship, Fire Dragon, for nearly the entire voyage back to Coruscant, ever since that incident on Antares with that stupid merchant's swoop bike. The boy snorted, thrusting a lock of dark hair out of his eyes, nearly biting his nails in his impatience to be free of the stifling confines of the trade ship, despite the size of the observation deck. But he had grown tired of seeing the sparkling nebulas and comets, asteroids and stars outside the plasti-steel window. His restless nature made him long to be outside, flying, racing, doing anything other than sitting still.

_How was I to know that dumb Corellian reprogrammed the controls when I offered to test drive it?_ The boy thought resentfully. _He never even warned me. How was I to know when I pushed the throttle it was going to take off like a Gundar with a blaster bolt stuck up its tail? Or that floating transport of juma fruit would just happen to be coming around the corner that moment?_ The boy winced, recalling with crystal clear clarity the way he had slammed into the transport, making the sky rain with fruit juice and fruit peels. It had seemed funny at the time, but that was before the irate merchant of the swoop had tried to blame Taryn for the whole thing, and the pilot of the transport had demanded he pay for the damaged fruit.

Taryn sighed. _And of course, some idiot saw the whole thing and reported it to Uncle Mellin. Who was mad enough to spit fire, and who wouldn't even let me explain what really happened. It's not fair! Why is it always my fault every time something bad happens? That was an accident, I didn't mean to crash the swoop. And I paid for all the fruit myself. And I bought the swoop too._ The boy thought defiantly. Never mind that Mellin had forbidden him to have one of the dangerous racing vehicles. After the crash, the Corellian had insisted Taryn take the damaged racer.

Which suited Taryn just fine. Repairing the sleek racing bike had given him something to do while he was confined to the ship for the rest of the two weeks it had taken to get to Coruscant. And Mellin, after his initial tirade about recklessness and irresponsibility, had ignored him, much to Taryn's relief. It had always been easier when adults left him alone. The way his parents had done.

They had never cared what he did, so long as he kept his nose out of the papers and not brought any shame down on their political careers. Image, as Taryn knew very well, was life to a political official. A politician could do whatever he liked in private, but in public he had to be above reproach. That had been one of the few lessons Taryn had learned from his father, the late governor Sarin. Only now Taryn was no longer in the public eye, so to speak. So it didn't matter if he got in trouble, no one would care.

_Except to yell at me once in awhile. But even that's better than being ignored. And who wants to follow all those boring rules anyway? It's more fun not to. Besides, no one ever notices when I do anything good anyway. Mom and Dad never gave a damn when I aced my classes, all I ever heard was that's nice, boy, now go away, I have to finish this proposal. Not even the time I received the Medal of Achievement for my speeder model. I was the best student in the whole school, out of almost a thousand kids. And what did I get for it? A pat on the head from Mom and isn't that nice, dear, now I have to run along to the meeting with Senator Organa and Trade Master Vellin. She didn't even look at it, not that she would have understood it anyway._

The boy sighed, sending the unwelcome memories back to sleep. There was no point in dwelling on the past. His parents had always been like that. Always too wrapped up in their political careers to notice their son. Eventually Taryn had stopped trying. And now they were dead, and he no longer had to worry about gaining their approval ever again. _And look what being smart and following the rules got me. Not a damn thing! _

But that didn't matter. He was done with following rules. Now he would do whatever he wanted, and to hell with all of them. He had no one but himself to depend on. No one else cared. Not even his uncles.

Although, he thought wistfully, his Uncle Qui-Gon might have cared once. Before he had ruined his chances with the Jedi Master by getting involved in that duel. After that, Taryn knew it was a lost cause to make the famous warrior see him as anything except a troublemaker. And once he had accepted it, it was easier to simply continue his streak of mischievous behavior. That was what everyone expected, after all.

Taryn peered out the window for the hundredth time. He prayed the ship would dock soon, so he could retrieve his swoop and practice with it around the Temple gardens. Though he knew before he could do that, he'd have to endure yet another lecture from his Jedi uncle.

But that was nothing new. Qui-Gon was always scolding him about something. Sometimes, it almost seemed that the Jedi Master actually cared about what happened to him. That time he had nearly gotten himself killed in that duel, Qui-Gon had hovered over him like a mother hen for days, only waiting until he was well to yell at him. He had almost made the rebellious boy feel guilty for that incident.

That, of course, had been before Qui-Gon had realized what every other adult knew.

That Taryn was an irredeemable brat, a born troublemaker, who would never amount to anything.

Still, the boy thought with a grin, he looked forward to going back to the Temple. At least it was interesting there, and the Jedi apprentices were fun to tease, and there was plenty of time to fly his swoop and think of new ways to annoy Qui-Gon.

The Jedi Master was so controlled that Taryn wondered what he would have to do to see that control crack. For even when he was scolding the boy, Taryn sensed he was more exasperated and disappointed than angry. In fact, he had never heard Qui-Gon raise his voice.

It had become Taryn's new goal to try and irritate the Jedi Master past bearing. Because it was a challenge. And above all things, Taryn Jinn loved a challenge.

**Well, how did you like that? Please review and let me know!**


	3. Chapter 3

Qui-Gon knew from the expression on Mellin's face that the trip had been anything but uneventful. His brother's lean, sun-browned face bore a look that Qui-Gon knew well. Relief that he had at last reached his destination and could send his troublemaking nephew back where he belonged and annoyance at the boy for making him feel like that in the first place. Of all the three brothers, Mellin was the most easy-going, and Qui-Gon wondered what the boy had done this time to aggravate the normally calm trader.

"What happened?" the Jedi Master asked in an undertone.

Mellin heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Gods help me, Qui-Gon, but if he wasn't Sarin's son, I'd have strangled him two weeks ago. It's like he's a magnet for trouble. I've never seen anything like it. Now, you know I wasn't any angel when I was young, Sarin and I were wild too, but this one . . ." the trader shook his head, and began telling the Jedi Master about the swoop and the damaged transport.

Taryn slipped by them while they were muttering, knowing full well Mellin was no doubt giving Qui-Gon an earful. The boy shrugged, unrepentant. All he wanted now was to get his swoop unloaded and make certain it was still in good condition.

He wandered over to the loading dock, his hands stuck in the pockets of his faded spacer pants, a bored look in his eyes. He searched the crates and boxes being unloaded. There! His red and black racing swoop had just come off that platform.

"Thanks, Avery!" he waved to the tech who had unloaded his bike, who loved the sleek racers and had helped Taryn fix his.

The dark young man grinned and called, "Good luck, you young devil! Watch your turns now, and try not to get killed."

"I'll do my best!" Taryn smirked. "See you." Then he began to examine the sleek curves and the twin engines that powered the flying vehicle. Technically you had to be fifteen to officially fly a swoop, but Taryn figured as long as he didn't fly it around the city, his being ten didn't make much difference. Besides, Taryn was as good a pilot as any fifteen-year-old, and this was his bike, after all.

The swoop was shining and unharmed, the fresh paint on it making it glow in the red setting sun. Taryn grinned and hopped on it, removing the key from his pocket and testing the engines. The swoop purred to life, running smoothly. But before he could take off into the sky, a hand caught his shoulder.

"Just a minute, Taryn." Qui-Gon said. "We need to have a little talk."

Taryn considered ignoring the Jedi's request, thought about gunning the throttle of the bike and taking off. But something in the other man's tone made him reconsider the impulse. Instead he turned off the swoop and said warily, "You gonna yell at me too?"

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow. "No. I think Mellin's already taken care of that. However, I would like to discuss this swoop bike you seem to have acquired."

"You gonna let me keep it?"

"Since you bought it yourself, I have no right to take it from you. Unless you misuse it, that is." He eyed the bike appreciatively. "That's a fine piece of machinery you've got there, boy. An S300-X2, isn't it? Top of the line."

Taryn stared at his uncle. "How did you know that? You race?"

"A long time ago." The Jedi answered. "I'm not all that old, you know. I can remember what it felt like to have a sleek jet like that under me." He said, reverting to the slang bikers used to describe a fast machine.

"She's lightning, you know. I didn't knock her up too bad when I hit that transport, and Avery and I fixed her and now she runs like a dream." Taryn glanced at Qui-Gon, his green eyes bright. "Can I ride her back to the Temple? I promise I'll be careful."

Qui-Gon was startled, for this was the first time the boy had actually asked permission for anything from him. He nodded. "All right. But I want your word that you'll fly within the speed limit. No hotshot moves and no tricks. I trust you can handle this skyrocket with the respect it deserves. You know you're not technically old enough to pilot a racing bike."

"I know. But I fly real good, Uncle Qui-Gon." Taryn reassured him.

"I don't doubt it. All the Jinns are excellent pilots." Qui-Gon told him. "Just remember, that bike's not a toy." The Jedi Master sighed. "That means you fly it only in the Temple vicinity, and don't go anywhere near downtown Coruscant with it. The biker gangs down there would kill you as quick as look at you for that swoop, and if the police caught you with it, they'd confiscate it in a minute. If I catch you out of bounds with it, I'll ground you like a shot, and that swoop will be mine indefinitely. I'd hate to take it away from you, but I will if you push me. Understand?"

The boy nodded, his face serious. "Yes, sir. I promise I'll stay near the Temple."

"All right then. Now why don't you show me what she's got?" the Jedi Master said with a boyish grin. He climbed aboard his own speeder.

Taryn stared at the Jedi for a full minute before he said, "Think you can catch me on that bucket of bolts?" He sprang to the seat of the swoop and blasted the engines. He quickly fastened the safety harness about himself, then gunned the throttle. The swoop hovered in the air for a moment, then took off with a howl as the boy punched the ignition. Taryn let out a shriek of pleasure as the swoop accelerated, streaking across the sky like a peregrine falcon.

The wind screamed in his ears, and he recalled too late that he should have put on his goggles. Then he shrugged and squinted against the glare. The swoop flew with barely a touch, she was as sweet a craft as anything he'd ever ridden in his life, and she was all his. He took the wind in his teeth and soared. Then he glanced behind him to see if Qui-Gon had caught up with him.

To his shock he discovered the Jedi had managed to stay just behind him. Taryn grinned in challenge. He was nearly certain he could beat the Jedi in a full-out race. He closed his hand over the throttle, preparing to blast it. Then he recalled Qui-Gon's injunction to stay within the speed limit. He eased back on the controls.

He didn't want to lose the bike so soon after he'd gotten it. With a start he realized he didn't want to lose the bike at all. This was the first thing he had ever owned, not been given as a gift or a present from his parents. The swoop was something that he had always wanted, something he knew he would never have gotten if not for that rather fortunate accident. For this model, as Qui-Gon had said, was top-of-the line and expensive, worth far more than his current spending account. He had gotten the bike cheap because the merchant had not wanted it after it had been smashed. Taryn supposed the Corellian had figured he wouldn't be able to fix it. But he had always been good with mechanical things.

_Maybe this won't be so bad now that I have the bike to fly. As long as I follow Uncle Qui-Gon's rules, that is. But I guess that's okay. I don't really like gangs all that much, they like to give you too many orders and they turn nasty when you don't follow 'em. I have enough problems with all Qui-Gon's rules, I sure as hell don't need anyone else telling me what to do._

Qui-Gon drew alongside. "That's pretty good flying, Taryn." He said, noting the pleased gleam in the boy's eyes at the praise. "There have been some changes while you were gone."

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that my daughter Kyra, your cousin, now lives here." The Jedi told him. "She's a Windwalker, bonded to a vorcel hawk."

"Can she use the Force?"

"She can. She has more power than many of the Jedi. She was also a Starhawk officer before she came here to be trained in the Force."

Taryn's mouth gaped. "A real Starhawk? Did she arrest any criminals?"

"You'll have to ask her that. I'm sure she'll tell you any adventures she happened to have as an officer."

"How come you never mentioned her before?"

"I didn't know of her until four months ago." Qui-Gon explained. "Her mother, Starhawk Commander Ilaren, never told me she was born."

"Why not?"

"Custom on Salishar says a daughter belongs to her mother to raise as she sees fit. They're very matriarchal there, which means that the women hold the ruling positions in society. We were apart for sixteen years and Ilaren wanted Kyra to be a Starhawk, not a Jedi. As it turns out, she's not either, but a Windwalker instead. But she'll explain all of that later."

"How old is she anyway?"

"Fifteen. Not too much older than you."

Taryn was silent a moment, thinking over this new information. The fact that he had a cousin close to his own age surprised him, but he found that he liked the idea once he got used to it. He wondered if she liked to race bikes. At least she wouldn't act all prissy and giggly like the highborn politicians' daughters, only interested in make-up and fashion. No, she was a Starhawk, a real warrior, one who had probably apprehended all kinds of criminals and such. Not to mention a Windwalker, whatever that was. _Finally, someone interesting to talk to, someone who's actually **done** something besides attend lectures in the Temple. Someone who won't read me chapter and verse about how I shouldn't go looking for adventure and how I should respect my elders, because my uncle's one of their Masters. Some of those apprentices think they're so hot, just because they can use the Force, and they have this holier-than-thou streak in them that makes me want to knock them down and rub dirt in their face just to prove they're the same as the rest of us people. _ The boy thought indignantly, never thinking that his own standoffish attitude and reputation as a troublemaker caused the apprentices to avoid him like the plague.

All too soon they had reached the Temple courtyard, and he was setting the swoop down on the ground, inside the hanger where the Temple housed their speeders. Giving the red bike a last pat, the boy followed Qui-Gon inside, slinging his pack over one shoulder, aflame with curiosity.

To his disappointment, Qui-Gon told him he would have to wait until tomorrow to meet his unusual cousin, as she was sleeping now. "But it's only nine o'clock!" Taryn cried. "That's too early to go to bed."

"Not if you've been having lessons in the Force and practicing with a sword since early this morning." His uncle told him. "Speaking of which, I'll need to review your grades tomorrow, so I can determine what classes you still need to take."

Taryn choked. "You mean I have to go back to school? But it's summer!"

"And you've just had a good six months of vacation on Mellin's ship, young one." Qui-Gon said. "I realize things have gotten a bit crazy since your parents died, but that's no excuse for abandoning your schoolwork. You don't know everything yet, even though you might think so."

"Awww . . .Uncle Qui-Gon, come on . . ."

"No arguments, Taryn." His uncle frowned at him sternly. "You'll go to school, the same as every other child your age. You've got a good head on your shoulders, it'd be a shame to waste it. Now quit whining, you sound like a spoiled brat."

The boy scowled, his chin thrust out rebelliously. "But what about my swoop? When'll I find time to ride it?"

"You'll ride it after school, of course. That is, once you've finished all your homework and your chores." The Jedi informed him calmly.

_"What?_ You're going to make me do chores too? Like washing dishes and stuff? But I'm not one of your apprentices! That's not fair! I never had to do anything like that at home. Don't you have droids or something?"

"We do. But we don't use them to avoid work. Cleaning your room and doing dishes isn't hard and besides, you need to take some responsibility for yourself. This isn't a hotel, everyone does their share here, no matter what rank they hold. So you'll do chores here the same as everyone else, governor's son or not. Have I made myself clear?" Qui-Gon demanded sternly.

Taryn glared sulkily at the Jedi Master, but at last he muttered, "Yeah, I hear you." He frowned, not at all pleased by this new turn of events. "I almost wish I was back on Uncle Mellin's ship."

"If you lived with Mellin, you'd still have lessons and chores. Trust me." Qui-Gon said, hiding a smile. "Now why don't you unpack? I'll send up some dinner and then you can go to bed."

"Bed? Are you serious?"

"Very. You're going to be up early tomorrow, I need to give you a few basic exams before I can determine what courses you need to take, and after that you can start with some of them."

"I can't wait." Taryn grumbled.

"Stop complaining. It won't change anything." Qui-Gon ordered. "You should know better than that by now."

"Yeah, I should know this was too good to be true!" the boy snapped resentfully. "It figures! I just get the best bike I've ever had in my life and now I'll be so damn busy with homework and stuff I won't even get to ride it. I thought you understood, but you don't. You're just like everyone else! Always going on about stupid things like school and responsibility, trying to act like my father or something! But he's dead and I don't need another one, no matter what you think. All I need is to be left alone!"

Before Qui-Gon could reply, the boy had turned and sprinted down the hallway, reaching the entryway to his room and slamming the door. The lock clicked with a snap. The Jedi Master followed, his temper beginning to spark despite his best efforts to control it.

"Taryn! Open this door right now." He ordered softly, in a voice like steel.

"No." came the muffled response. "I don't want to talk anymore. So just go away."

"_Now, _young man."

"Why should I? You're only going to yell at me. So you might as well do it through the door."

"I'll do a lot worse than that if you don't open this door by the time I count to three." Qui-Gon said through gritted teeth. "One."

He could hear the boy muttering sullenly behind the door.

"Two."

Still the door remained shut. Clearly the boy was determined to test him.

"Thr-"

The door slid open.

Qui-Gon entered the room to find his nephew standing defiantly by the window, rebellion in every line of his body. Angry tears sparkled in the large green eyes. The Jedi shut the door with a wave of his hand. "I believe you owe me an apology," he began, seating himself on one end of the couch. "I don't know what sort of behavior you were allowed to get away with on Malithar, but I won't tolerate that sort of disrespect." He met the boy's defiant gaze with his own, fixing the sullen youth with his raptor gaze. Taryn glanced away. "But we'll discuss that later. What's really bothering you? I don't think it has anything to do with you going to school."

"Nothing." The boy said quickly. "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"It's just . . .I thought when I came back, I'd be able to do what **I **wanted for once! The way it was before."

"You mean before your parents died?" Qui-Gon asked, puzzled. "You went to school then too. And you were one of the best students there, if your grades were any example."

"How do you know that?" he demanded in astonishment.

"I have copies of your transcripts. I didn't read your mind."

Taryn bit back a sigh of relief. For one moment he had been afraid that his uncle had used the Force to do just that, despite the fact that he was a Jedi. "Mom and Dad never cared about that. They were too busy running the planet. Once I was done with school, I could do whatever I wanted, and I didn't have someone looking over my shoulder every five seconds."

"Oh, I see. You thought that once Anandra and Sarin were gone, you could just run wild, like some uneducated street brat. It doesn't work that way, Taryn. Rules exist for a reason. To keep you safe."

"I don't need you to protect me! I can take care of myself." Taryn flared.

"Really? By getting involved with duels of honor over money?" the Jedi pointed out sharply. "Were you thinking of joining some of those ruffians about the North Gate, the ones that race swoops for money? Do you know how dangerous that is? Most of them die before they're twenty. You have too much potential to throw away your life like that, boy. Do you think your father would want that?"

"I don't know! How the hell would I? He was never home enough to talk to me. Don't you get it? They didn't care. I was just . . .an inconvenience."

"Taryn, no. You were their son. They loved you." Qui-Gon began.

"How would you know? Some Jedi trick? Can you speak with the dead now?" the boy cried, swiping at the sudden tears that appeared in his eyes. "No. Why do you care anyway? What's done is done. Isn't that what you Jedi say?"

"You don't understand what that means. And it's not important now. Your parents put their careers before you, I know it and I never agreed with it, but this much I do know, they always loved you. I don't need the Force to tell me that."

"It doesn't change the past."

"No. But being angry over that won't help you, either. Let it go, Taryn. Anger and bitterness will only hurt you in the end. And that's the very last thing you need." The Jedi Master observed, sensing the boy's anger beginning to fade. _Maybe I'm pushing a bit too hard. I didn't realize he was still carrying around resentment over his parents. Qui-Gon, where are your eyes? You shouldn't have missed that._ He gave himself a mental shake. "How about we start over? I'll give you one more day of freedom before you start classes. No rules, no responsibility. You're on your own. I won't be looking over your shoulder. Think you can handle that?"

"Do you mean it? You won't spy on me with the Force or anything?"

"My word of honor as a Jedi Master." Qui-Gon said solemnly. "But only for one day. After that you obey the rules. Will that suit you, Taryn Jinn?"

Slowly the boy nodded. "You've got a deal, sir." He held out a hand.

His uncle took it. "I only hope I don't regret this." He rose to his feet. "I'll send up some dinner for you." He turned to go.

"Wait!"

"Yes?" the Jedi Master turned back to him.

"I just wanted to say that I . . .I'm sorry for the way I acted before."

"You're forgiven, scamp." Qui-Gon grinned. Then he reached out and ruffled the boy's hair. _I hope I'm doing the right thing. My instincts tell me I am, but how can I be sure? Only time will tell. May the Force be with all of us. _

* * * * * *

Kyranon was up with the dawn, burning with restless energy, she made her way to the saber arena, prepared to practice yet another pattern. Qui-Gon had taught her a new sixth-level sword form, and she had been industriously working on perfecting it this last week.

As usual, she began with the warm-up exercises, then moved her way through the basic sword-forms. Once a Jedi student had asked her why she bothered to practice the basic forms after all this time. Kyra had answered that the basics helped limber up stiff muscles and stretch them so that when she did the more difficult forms she wouldn't pull muscles or tendons. Once, when she was twelve, she had tried to take a shortcut in her practice routine and skip the basic maneuvers for that day. She had gone from stretches to the third-level patterns and for her foolishness had ended up barely able to walk the next day. It was a mistake she was never going to repeat.

By the time she had worked through the three basic levels and moved onto the fourth pattern, where the forms used more muscle and demanded more accuracy in strike and parry, she had an audience. That was nothing unusual, she often had eager trainees come to watch her practice sessions and offer to spar with her.

She continued the routine, spinning and slashing at shadows, her hands and feet in perfect balance, her vibroblade glittering in the air like an emerald viper. She seemed to float effortlessly across the ground, like a leaf in the wind, she danced, her blade performing circles and crescents in the air. It was a beautiful deadly dance she wove, combining the artistry of a dancer with deadly precision of a soldier. She finished her practice with the new patterns Qui-Gon had shown her, slowing down some to make certain she got the timing and strokes exactly right.

When she was satisfied she had mastered the pattern for that day, she finished with her signature reverse thrust. Only then did she switch off her vibroblade and turn to face the student who had been watching her so ardently.

Only to come face to face with a young boy who resembled her father. For one instant she did a double-take. _Gods in a circle, don't tell me I have a brother I never knew about!_ The boy was around ten or so with dark hair and bangs that fell into his green eyes. He was slender, dressed in a fine blue tunic and leather pants like the wealthier citizens of Coruscant wore. On his left shoulder was a griffin emblem. His clothes were expertly tailored and only his boots were scuffed and showed signs of wear. He watched her intently, as if trying to absorb every moment of her practice into his brain. His expression reminded her of her father's more penetrating stares.

"Hello." He greeted. "You must be Kyra. I'm Taryn Jinn."

"Hi." Kyra took his hand. "You're my cousin."

"Right. Sarin was my father. But you never knew him, did you?"

Kyra shook her head. "No. My condolences on your loss."

"Thanks." Taryn shrugged. "Were you really a Starhawk officer?"

"A lieutenant. Until I gave up my rank to become a Windwalker."

Taryn's mouth fell open. "You _gave_ up being a Starhawk? But why would you ever do something like that?"

Kyra grinned at his shocked expression. "Because I was meant to be a Windwalker first. And Starhawks don't use the Force. That was why I left in the first place. So I could come here and be trained in the right way to use the Force."

"But you're not a Jedi like Uncle Qui-Gon."

"No. I'm different. I'm a Windwalker. I'm bonded to a vorcel hawk, his name is Wraith. He's a Force-user too and my teacher. I protect and defend the Jedi. I guess you could say I'm a soldier and a healer and sometimes I see visions."

"Can you fly?"

"When I use the winds, yes. That's one of a Windwalker's major gifts the ability to call a wind. I can call tornadoes, sandstorms, blizzards, that sort of thing. Or a gentle breeze. I haven't figured out everything I can do with my powers yet, I've only been learning from Wraith for three months."

"And you said you protect the Jedi. But they're powerful warriors, why would they need you?"

"Because that's a Windwalker's job. I protect them against the Sith Lords, the ones who use the Dark Side of the Force."

"There really are Sith? I thought that was just a story to scare little kids who were bad."

"The Sith are all too real. I ought to know. I fought two of them already." Kyra said.

"You _killed_ two Sith? Holy stars! What were they like?"

"Nasty. One of them used to be my father's apprentice before he turned to the Dark Side. The other one was Darth Majestrix's student. They dressed in black like typical criminals and they thought were the biggest, meanest bullies in the whole galaxy. Until I showed them differently."

"Bet you kicked their ass, huh?" Taryn said, his eyes shining.

"All the way down to hell." Kyra replied. "You know how to handle a vibroblade?"

Taryn shook his head. "No. But I can shoot the eye out of a bird at two hundred yards with a blaster. My dad would never let me learn how to fence. He said one swordsman in the family was enough, and besides, the lightsaber was a Jedi's weapon." _And I'd never be worthy enough to touch one, much less receive instruction in how to use one._

"The Starhawks use vibroblades, like mine." Kyra showed the boy hers.

Taryn took the hilt of her blade gently, examining it. Then he handed it back to her. "I wish I could learn to fight like that. But I'm too old to learn now. My father said you need to start training with a sword when you're real little."

"That's true. I started when I was five. But not all Starhawks begin at that age. And while it's easier to teach little kids, that doesn't mean you can't learn sword-forms. Anyone can. All it takes is practice. Hours and hours of practice."

"Then you could teach me?"

"Sure. If you're willing to take orders from me." Kyra was surprised at his request. It was the last thing she had expected, from what Qui-Gon had told her. She had thought he would be like Rilyan, all smug and snotty and sneering at the idea of a girl being able to fight better than he could. Instead the kid appeared to have developed a bad case of hero-worship. _Oh, well, I guess I'd be the same way if I met a warrior who'd killed two Sith when I was his age too. Maybe this won't be too bad after all. If he's learning sword-forms from me, I can make sure he's too tired to go looking for trouble._

Taryn nodded. "All right." Then he said, "Do you race? With a swoop bike I mean?"

"I used to. Back on Salishar, before I found out I could use the Force. All of us cadets and junior officers used hold races every weekend. It was great. We'd have a barbecue, you know, with steaks and hamburgers and stuff. And we'd race all day, in teams and singles."

"Were you good?"

"I could hold my own." Kyra answered, not bothering to tell him that she'd come in first in most of the races she had entered. "Why? You have a bike?"

"Yeah! She's a real slick jet. Want to go see?"

Kyra followed Taryn to the hanger, biting back a gasp as she caught sight of the expensive red and black bike with the sleek curved chrome sides and sparkling twin ion engines. The bike looked like it was flying even when it was standing still. "Gods in a circle!" the Windwalker exclaimed. "That's an S300-X2! A professional racer. What did you say your father did again?"

"He was planetary governor of Malithar." Taryn answered. "But I didn't get this from him. I got in a, uh, fortunate accident." He told Kyra how he had test driven the bike and crashed it, thus getting it at a reduced price from the merchant. "And you should have seen the look on Uncle Mellin's face!" the boy smirked.

"Was he about ready to strangle you?"

"Thought he was going to start breathing fire like a kraiyt dragon." Her cousin admitted. "And he didn't really believe it wasn't my fault. Well, it was, sort of. But I wasn't trying to get in trouble. Not this time anyway. And it was worth getting grounded for two weeks since I got to keep the bike." He patted the sleek racer fondly. "Want to try her out?"

"You bet. She looks fast as skyfire." Kyra said eagerly. "How about after breakfast? I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"All right. I'd better fly as much as I can today, since I won't be getting much free time once Qui-Gon gets my curriculum worked out." The boy sighed. "What is it with adults and school anyway? It's like a religion with them or something."

"It's a way to keep track of us, I think. And learn something useful at the same time." Kyra told him. "Don't feel too bad, kid. I've got lessons too and between them and my sword practice I feel like a dragon just stomped me into the ground. But that's the price you pay for being successful."

Taryn made a face. "Yeah, but why does it always take forever to see any results? And don't you ever get sick of everyone telling you what to do? They always think that because they're older they know what's best for you. But they don't."

"But they have experience and we don't. And sometimes it's easier to listen to what they say rather than argue. Especially if arguing only gets you in more trouble." Kyra told him.

"I guess so. Though I managed to win an argument with your dad and get him to give me an extra day of vacation, so I think I argue pretty good."

"Word of advice, kid. If you made a deal with my father, stick to it. To the letter. Jedi don't like people who break their word. It's dishonorable. Nothing will make Qui-Gon angrier at you than if you break a promise." The Windwalker warned.

"I wasn't going to break my word!" Taryn said angrily. "What do you take me for? I'm not a scumsucker." He said, using street slang for a person who betrayed and lied to his friends and enemies.

"Take it easy. I never said you were." Kyra said, giving him a friendly slap on the back. "Don't go all highborn and snotty on me now."

"Oh, shut up!" Taryn muttered. "Uh, no offense, Kyra."

"None taken. I'll let you know when you shoot your mouth off too much."

The two went into the dining hall and picked up some bacon, eggs, toast and cereal from the buffet. The dining hall was nearly empty for it was still pretty early in the morning. As they ate, Taryn interrogated her about her days as a Starhawk, enraptured by the adventurers and duties she had had.

"Do you have to be born on Salishar to be a Starhawk?" he asked, chewing a piece of toast.

"No, we get recruits from all over the place. Mostly humans, though we have a few Tallesians, a Dragor, even a Wookie or two. But the Starhawks originated on Salishar, so those who are high up on the chain of command are from there. Like my mother, Commander Ilaren. She inherited the position from her mother, since she was First Daughter. I should have been the next Commander, but I can't since I'm a Windwalker. So now she'll have to find someone else to take her place. Either that or have another daughter."

"How likely is that?"

"What, my mother having another kid? Not very. She lives and breathes being Commander. She doesn't have much time for personal relationships. And from what my father said, she loved him like crazy. You'll note, neither of them remarried, so I guess they still care about each other. But the succession of command isn't my problem anymore. I'm not a Starhawk anymore."

"Do you miss it?"

Slowly, the Windwalker nodded. "Sometimes. But I've been so busy learning how to be a Windwalker I haven't had much time to dwell on the past." _And since I'll never know that life again, there's no point in my dwelling on it. No matter how much I might want to, I can never go back. I made my choice._

Taryn remained quiet for a moment, then he said, "What kind of people become Starhawks, anyway?"

"People who are single, usually. Starhawks are soldiers, see, and they die quicker than normal, so most of them don't have families to start with. Later, once they've made Captain, they get married or retire. But usually the regulars are single. It's easier that way. The company becomes your family, your fellow men and women are like your brothers and sisters. Or lovers, occasionally. You've got to be tough to be a Starhawk, they don't take anyone without guts, stamina, brains, and discipline. That most of all. Starhawks are the best troops in the galaxy because they work together and follow orders. The officers are encouraged to display initiative, but if you're a regular you do what you're told. Unless you have a damn good reason not to. Why, you planning on enlisting?"

"I . . .well, I was thinking about it. When I was older, I mean."

"You've got to be at least fourteen to enlist. And go through a year of basic training before they'll put a vibroblade in your hand and give you a uniform. And it's not all adventure and glory. Lots of times it's pretty boring. You patrol a sector and monitor traffic and wait to see if anything happens." Kyra raised an eyebrow. "How come you want to be a Starhawk? I thought you hated taking orders. If you're a soldier, you don't have a choice. When your officer tells you to do something, you jump, no questions asked."

The boy frowned. "I know. That's the only part that bothers me."

Privately, Kyra thought the boy was too rebellious and independent to make a good Starhawk, though she did not want to hurt his feelings by saying so. _If he has trouble following Father's orders, he'll never make it through a week of basic. And Father is polite when he tells you to do something, not like the drill instructors. They get right in your face and scream at you like you've gone deaf and heaven forbid you should look at them funny, they'll have you on the ground doing fifty push-ups so fast it'll make your head spin. No, he's definitely not Starhawk material. Not unless he does an awful lot of growing up between now and then._

_"Ah, but maybe such discipline will be good for him."_ Wraith interjected, gliding in from the courtyard just off the dining hall where he had been taking a nap. He settled on the back of Kyranon's chair like the phantom he was named for.

Taryn started so suddenly he nearly fell over backwards. "Gods and hells! Is that your hawk?"

"It is. Taryn say hello to Wraith."

"Uh . . .pleased to meet you."

Wraith fixed the boy with a measuring gaze. _"Greetings, young one. Qui-Gon's nephew are you not?"_

"Hey, you talk!"

_"Of course, I am a vorcel hawk, and fully as intelligent as a human. More sometimes."_ Wraith declared, preening slightly.

"Now don't get too arrogant, featherbrain." Kyra teased. "You and I both know you're not always as wise as you seem."

_"Wiser than you, Chosen. And well I should be, since I'm older by far than you."_

"Older doesn't always mean better." Taryn put in impudently.

"Huh." Taryn snorted. "What could a hawk know more than a human?"

_"Plenty. I have seen more than you and done more than you have."_ The vorcel hawk answered frostily. _"So best mind your tone when you speak to me, boy. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?"_

Taryn glared at the bird, his face flushing. "Is he always so damn touchy?"

"He is when you insult him." Kyra scowled.

"But I didn't-!"

"Yes, you did. You acted like the fact that he wasn't human meant he wasn't as smart as you. He's light-years smarter than me or you'll ever be. If I were you, I'd apologize quick."

"What is he, some kind of god?"

"He's my bondmate, and he deserves the same respect as me, got it?" Kyra stated softly, her blue eyes glowing with repressed anger. "Now quit acting like a brat or we're going to have a serious problem."

Taryn shot to his feet. "Hey, who do you think you are? You're not my mother."

"Thank the gods I'm not. I'd be tempted to give you a good smack." She locked eyes with him, giving him her officer's glare, the one that had always made argumentative recruits back down and lower their heads, no matter their size or their age.

Taryn held her glare with his own stubborn gaze for about four minutes before he dropped his eyes to the ground. "Fine. I apologize." He muttered grudgingly.

"Okay, then. That good enough for you, Wraith?"

The vorcel hawk clicked his beak together. _"It'll do." _He said aloud. Then he sent privately to Kyra, _Though he could use a good spanking in my opinion. It'll knock that attitude right out of him. Too bad your father's too soft to punish him like that._

_Father would have to really lose his temper to even consider raising a hand to him, much less actually swat him one. Jedi don't believe in physical punishment._ Kyra answered. _Although if he doesn't watch it, he just might push Qui-Gon too far. Even a Jedi's patience has limits, and I think my father's almost at the end of his._

_I can't say I blame him._ Wraith sent.

There was an awkward silence for several minutes, as they both avoided each other's eyes. But Taryn regained his composure and said, "You still up for a race?" his tone was challenging, but underneath the bravado Kyra could sense a wistful longing. She wondered if the boy had made any friends during his stay at the temple. Probably not, she surmised. If he was a troublemaker, the other students would avoid him, since they didn't have time for pranks and his reputation would do them no good either.

_I suppose I'm the first person close to his age he's talked to for more than five minutes that didn't turn tail and run after they got a taste of his smartass attitude._

"I am. Tell you what, you drive and I'll fly with the Force. And we'll see who's faster, racer or Windwalker."

"You'll be eating my dust." He said loftily.

"We'll see."

She rose and placed her tray on the conveyor belt with the other dirty dishes. They would be moved into the kitchen where droids and trainees would wash them. A light on her pocket communicator flashed. Frowning, she unclipped the small black box from her utility belt. "Give me a second. My com just went off." She told taryn. She pushed a small blue button on the side of the box with her thumb.

"Urgent message for Windwalker Kyranon from Salishar." The electronic voice squealed.

"Huh. Wonder if that's my mom calling me? I wonder what she wants?" Kyra declared in puzzlement. She had not spoken to Ilaren since the Commander had relented and accepted her daughter back into her family after declaring her an outcast. Ilaren had been furious at Kyra's decision to stop being a Starhawk, and had declared her _vrekarin_, despite Qui-Gon's and her bondmate Sirath's protests. Eventually, however, Ilaren had changed her mind and accepted her daughter's decision. Still, Kyra had not heard from her mother since the day she had received the papers stating she was now fully restored as First Daughter of House Aranell. Ilaren's duties as Commander of the Starhawks kept her too busy for casual correspondences.

"Listen, I have to take this message." Kyra said to Taryn. "My mother doesn't usually call me like this. Wait here. I'll go check my terminal, then I'll be right back."

Taryn nodded.

The Windwalker and her bondmate left the room, heading to Kyra's room. "I don't like this, Wraith. Something's not right here."

_"I agree. The Commander would not send an urgent request unless it was something very serious. I feel a disturbance in the Force."_

Kyra acknowledged her hawk's words with a nod, realizing as she did so that her Force-sensitive nerves were humming uneasily, as they did before a battle. Suddenly the words of the spirit Windwalker Dahl flashed into her head. _Protect the Hawk, for the Shadow seeks its death, as they have always been enemies._

Could the spirit have been speaking of the Starhawks?

She hit the button that unlocked the door of her room and went inside. Normally the Jedi did not bother to lock their rooms, for here in the Temple, everyone respected everyone else's privacy and belongings. But Kyra had been a Starhawk for too long to abandon military habits now, and Starhawks hunted criminals who would love to get their hands on a Starhawk's personal items to use against them. So Kyra always locked her door.

She moved over to her computer terminal which had an automatic com message system built in it. A blue light on the console was flashing. Kyra sat down, tapped the code to retrieve the incoming message. Her mother's face lit the screen, looking almost as she always did in her neat Commander's uniform with the Starhawk gold braid of command on each sleeve and the silver hawk emblem on the shoulder holding a sword in its talons, wings outstretched. Only the Commander was permitted to wear the hawk in flight, all other Starhawk officers wore the hawk with closed wings, guarding. Four stars on her collar proclaimed her rank as full Commander. Her honey hair curled about her head in a typical military style. But her green eyes were filled with an alarm that made Kyra's blood run cold.

"Kyranon, this is a priority one. The Eyrie has been compromised. All the eggs were lost, robbed by vultures. Unable to locate where they fled. Five peregrines pursued, none returned. Request assistance immediately. You've always been good with puzzles, and this one is more difficult than most. One especially suited to your unique talents. Reply immediately. Commander Ilaren out. Transmission ended."

For one moment she was unable to move, the words of the Commander replaying themselves in her head like some prophecy of doom. The message had been sent in code, a code that only a Starhawk officer who had memorized the keywords would know and comprehend. _Gods in a circle! Priority one is an urgent distress beacon. Something she'd only send if the situation was pretty damn dire. _

_"Chosen, what did the Commander say?"_ Wraith queried.

_That's a distress call for immediate assistance from me and the Jedi. Hawk Haven security has been compromised. She was betrayed by one of her own. The traitor made off with some important information, probably the plans of the base and all the security codes. She sent five ships with full patrols to pursue, but they never came back. Which means they're dead. Or maybe captured, but that's not likely. Whoever the traitor is, he knows all Hawk Haven's weaknesses and can reveal them to the highest bidder, like the Blood Serpent Alliance. _

_"What organization is that?" _

_"One of the biggest crime syndicates in the galaxy, they rival the Hutts for power and ruthlessness. We've been trying to crush them for good for years, and my mother came pretty close a time or two, but somehow their leaders always managed to get away at the last minute. Now I know why. One of our own betrayed his oath, may demons gnaw his bones in hell!_ Kyra sent furiously. _Anyway, she needs my help, because with security compromised, she can't tell who she can trust anymore. Even her friends are suspect. She can't Truth Read them like I or a Jedi can. __And if those secrets fall into the wrong hands, the Snakes could destroy the Starhawks._

Her hand hit the erase key, wiping the message from the databanks. Then she opened a channel. "Reply to Salishar Commander from Windwalker. Mother, have received your invitation to the party. Sounds exciting. Will attend with some friends. See you in a few days. All my love, Kyra. End transmission." By that message, Ilaren would know she had decoded her transmission and would come immediately to her aid.

Kyra stood up, her face a mask of determination. "This changes everything. I've got to find my father. Come on, Wraith! There's no time to lose." She began throwing clothes into her travel pack, the one she always kept ready in case of emergency. Slinging it over her shoulder, she said, "Wraith, go get Qui-Gon. I'll meet him in his quarters. I have to go tell Taryn our race will have to wait for another time. Hurry!"

_"At once, Windwalker!"_ the hawk sprang from her shoulder, flying as only a vorcel hawk could fly, like a streak of light. Then Kyra turned and headed back to dining hall. _The Shadow rises again._She thought darkly, consumed with worry for her former comrades and friends. She must protect the Starhawks at all costs. For if they fell, it would indeed begin a time of darkness, as Windwalker Dahl had foretold.


	4. Chapter 4

Taryn was a bit annoyed when Kyra told him she wouldn't be able race that day. "What do you mean, you have to go to some family reunion!" he grumbled. "I thought you were an only child."

"This is a Starhawk reunion," Kyra improvised. "And even though I'm not technically a Starhawk, I have to be there. I don't dare miss it, I would disgrace my House past bearing if I did." She gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, but we'll have to have that race some other time. Now, I have to tell my father what's going on, he might decide to join me. Catch you later, kid!"

"Bye." Taryn said sullenly, but Kyra had no time for the boy's sulky attitude. The Starhawks very survival was at stake.

Kyra turned to go down the corridor to the Jedi Master's quarters. She was so intent upon getting there that she did not realize that she was being trailed. A slight figure was following her a short distance behind.

Qui-Gon was already there with Wraith when she entered. His face was drawn with alarm. "Wraith told me what Ilaren said." He began without preamble. "This is very bad. We have to catch the traitor before he sells the information to one of their enemies."

"I know. If that information falls into the Blood Serpent's hands, they can destroy Hawk Haven." Kyra said quietly. "I can't let that happen."

"None of us can." The Jedi agreed. "The Starhawks are too important as peacekeepers and warriors. I must inform the Council of this immediately. But it may take them two days or so to act. I realize that's too long, so you should go on ahead to Salishar. I'll meet you there with whatever Jedi I can gather as soon as I can."

"That's what I had hoped you'd say. What sort of ship should I take? A cruiser is too slow."

"You ever pilot a scout?" Qui-Gon asked.

"A small four-person fighter, right?" Kyra clarified. "Yeah, I can fly one."

"Take the _Phantom_ then. It's in the left hanger bay on platform 6. It'll get you there in half a day with the hyperdrive. Tell Ilaren not to worry. And be careful." He reached out and hugged his daughter. "Take care of her, Wraith." He ordered the vorcel hawk. "May the Force be with you."

"See you on Salishar, Father." Kyra said. "Though this isn't exactly the homecoming I had planned."

"Me either." Qui-Gon said ruefully. "But we don't always get what we wish for."

* * * * * *

Taryn Jinn moved away from the door in a crouch, slipping back down the hallway before Qui-Gon had finished speaking. He was fairly certain that he had not been discovered. Silently, he congratulated himself, he had always been good at sneaking around without getting caught. _I knew something was up. I didn't believe for a moment that phony story about some reunion. She doesn't lie very well, that's for sure. She just didn't want to tell me she's been called away on a mission. And what a mission! Spies and secrets and the Blood Serpent Alliance. Now there's a real adventure._

The boy bit his lip. His cousin was so lucky. She got to go on all of these exciting missions while he was stuck here on boring Coruscant going to school. It hardly seemed fair. Just because he didn't wield the Force didn't mean he was helpless. He could shoot a blaster and his father's security chief Teel Arandyl had taught him hand-to-hand combat and how to disarm an opponent. Of course, he'd never actually used those techniques, but that didn't matter. He could if he wanted to. If anyone gave him half a chance.

_Yeah, right. Like that'll ever happen in a million light years. Qui-Gon would never let me go with him. He thinks he has to protect me, like I was some kind of baby. I know better than to even ask. He'd just look at me with those eagle eyes and say, "A battlefield's no place for a boy your age, now tend to your schoolwork."_ Taryn snorted.

Then he got an idea. He knew as soon as he thought of it that he shouldn't do it. It was impulsive, reckless, and dangerous as hell. Even more dangerous than the duel he'd fought with the Tuskan and the Gorgon in the pits that time. He knew it went against every rule the Jedi Master had made. But it was simply too tempting to resist. And if it worked, he would be a hero, just like his uncle and Kyra. And a hero would be accepted into the Starhawks. Especially if he were the one who had helped save them.

_Besides, I still have twelve more hours of free time. And Qui-Gon did say I could do what I wanted. No rules, no responsibility. _Taryn reminded himself, shutting away the small voice that whispered, _Yes, but he also trusted you not to get into any real trouble._

The boy irritably told the voice to shut up. This was the chance of a lifetime. He would be a fool if he let it get away. Besides, Qui-Gon half expected him to break the rules anyway. Taryn grinned, filled with the thrill of the forbidden. It was time for him to seek his own destiny.

He slipped off to his room to gather up Sarin's blaster and a few other things. Then he made his way to platform 6. Popping open the storage hatch, he flew his racer inside the bay, concealing it behind some empty packing crates. You never knew what you might need, and Taryn had a feeling that the bike would be useful later on. Then he settled down inside the belly of the _Phantom_, closing the hatch behind him. By the time Kyra realized he was there, it would be too late to send him back to the Temple.

This time he would not be left behind or ignored. _I'll show them all that I'm not just some pampered highborn little kid. _He wondered how long it would take to get to Salishar, and what kinds of things they might face once they arrived. One thing he did know. This was the most exciting and forbidden thing he'd ever done in his life. He felt slightly guilty about betraying his uncle's trust this way. Then he shrugged and thought flippantly, _Shoot, Uncle Qui-Gon will forgive me for it. He always does._

He yawned, shifting on the hard deck, then he tugged a corner of the tarp covering the racing bike over himself and fell asleep.

* * * * * *

Kyra powered up the _Phantom's_ engines, Wraith perched on the pilot's seat of the cockpit. She ran through the control checks with the computer, making certain all the ship's systems were functioning at peak efficiency. She couldn't afford for something to break down midflight and slow her down. Everything checked out with A+ ratings.

The ship was a small craft, though armed with a gun turret with a single laser cannon, and two torpedo banks. The firepower on the scout wasn't flashy and a large cruiser or a battleship would be able to blast it into fragments without half-trying, but a scout wasn't built for true fighting capability. It was a long-range reconnaissance vehicle, built for maneuverability, communications and sheer speed. This ship was a Ghost model, one of the premier scout craft in its class and Kyra knew it could outmaneuver almost anything the Snakes could throw at it.

The scout was equipped with four seats, designed to accommodate the four members of a reconnaissance team: pilot, co-pilot, intelligence op, and communications tech. There was fold out table built into the right panel of the ship so the crew could play cards or eat when they weren't on duty. It was a tidy little ship with built in life-support, a large capacity storage bay, and cutting edge communications and hyperdrive systems.

Kyra strapped herself into the pilot's chair. "All systems go, Wraith!" she told the hawk. "Let's see what this skyrocket's got."

She tapped the command console and the ship's engines revved. Her communications panel beeped. "Control deck to _Phantom._ You are cleared for take-off." The tower control said.

Kyra pressed the response button. "Roger that, control. _Phantom _ready to go topside. Over and out."

Her hand closed over the forward thruster stick and she pressed it down. The engines roared and the scout took off, climbing rapidly into Coruscant's steel blue sky. Kyra accelerated rapidly, getting up enough speed to clear the planetary atmosphere. Then they were amid the starfilled ebony vault of space and Coruscant was a round greenish ball beneath them.

"Set course for Salishar." Kyra told the nav computer. "Point 23 sector five. On my mark."

"Aye, Captain." The computer responded, scrolling through the navigational maps and star charts. "Course plotted. Awaiting signal."

"Mark."

"Hyperdrive engaged." The computer whistled and Kyra felt the hyperdrive modulator hum to life. Then the stars became streaks as the ship shifted into hyperspace, travelling at ten times the speed of light.

Kyra set the ship on autopilot, knowing they wouldn't come out of hyperspace for at least an hour. And there was no point in staring out into a white blur, which was all the ordinary eye could perceive when travelling at this speed.

She settled back in her chair, trying to meditate, and calm her jangling nerves. The Starhawks would need her alert and ready for anything. She did not plan to let them down.

About an hour or so later, Kyra was awakened from her meditation by the computer alerting her that they were emerging from hyperspace. "Acknowledged. Any traffic out there I should know about, _Phantom_?"

"Checking all registered lanes, Captain."

The communications panel lit with several incoming messages. Kyra listened to the chatter of the merchant ships and traders, the cruisers and transports, searching for anything resembling a transmission from the Blood Serpent Alliance. But it was just routine news, nothing even remotely resembling what she was looking for. Sighing, she set the board to receive any scrambled transmissions, then turned to Wraith, who was dozing on the back of her chair.

"Well, nothing yet. And we have about six more hours till we reach Salishar. What do you think the Snakes are up to this time? And who in the hell could have betrayed my mother like that?"

Wraith swiveled his head around. _"I haven't the faintest idea, I don't keep up with Starhawk politics, you know. One thing I will say, is that whoever it is must have been put in place a long time ago. This wasn't a hasty maneuver, this was planned for years. Whoever the informer was, it's someone who is very close to the top, someone Ilaren trusts implicitly."_

"Who? Alirath? No, he could never do that. My mother saved his life about a million times during their careers, he owes her his honor and his sword a dozen times over. He's Starhawk to the bone, they could never pay him enough to betray his oath."

_"Can you be sure of that? He's next in line for the Commander's position. Power corrupts absolutely. Perhaps he grew tired of waiting."_

Kyra shook her head. "I don't know why, but something tells me it's not him. Alirath is like an open book, he couldn't lie to save his soul. Mother used to say he was as transparent as glass. They went through the Academy together, and she said whenever the cadets were planning something non-reg, they never told Alirath until the last second, because any drill instructor who saw his face would know something was up in a nanosecond."

_"Perhaps he was a very good actor."_

Kyra laughed. "He'd have to be the galaxy's best pretender ever, but I don't think so. He's the one who used to teach the honor code to the cadets. He detests liars and sneaks. Once when I was six, he caught me playing around with one of the fully-charged vibroblades. I tried to make believe I didn't know it was set to maximum, but he picked up on it like a shot. He gave me a good couple of smacks for lying." The Windwalker said. "I never dared to lie to him again, I'll tell you that much. If I didn't know better, I'd say he has some glimmer of the Force."

_"Well, if it isn't him, then who else could it be?"_

Kyra thought for a moment. "Let's see. After Alirath, there's Major Tasha Niklovitch and Captain-Commander Faro Seventrees. They've been with the company since they were kids, and my mother's relied on them for more than one difficult mission. Still, it's hard to think of them as traitors. Then there's Captain Sean Androvak, he was my mother's best friend when she was growing up. Androvak was always something of a rebel, but he'd back my mother against the devil himself. I wish I could say for sure it's one or the other, but I can't," the Windwalker declared in frustration. "I grew up with all of them, they were my teachers and practically my family. How the hell can I think that one of them was actually a double agent for the Blood Serpents?"

_"I know this is difficult for you, Chosen. It would be for me also. Yet there is no denying one of them betrayed their oath. Trust in the Force. It will guide you to the truth."_

"I hope so." Kyra rubbed her eyes. "I must be more tired than I thought. Because for a second I thought I saw a green light in the storage bay."

_"You did,"_ Wraith confirmed, looking at the console.

"But that's impossible," Kyra objected. "A green light means there's a lifeform down there. And the storage bay was supposedly empty. Do you think there's a glitch in the system?"

Frowning, she ran the ship's diagnostic. But everything checked out. The green light was still blinking.

"What the blazes _is_ that?"

_"Why don't I go check it out?"_ the vorcel hawk suggested. _"It's probably just a tree squirrel or a mole rat that wandered in for a nap and got caught when you locked the bay doors."_

"You're right," Kyra agreed. "Better go find it and bring it to me, so I can cage it, before it gets into the ship's air ducts or something and kills itself."

_ "You can release it on Salishar,"_ Wraith suggested, then he was gone, flying soundlessly through the ship until he reached the automatic doors that sealed shut the storage bay. _"Kyra, open the doors. My talons aren't suited to punching buttons."_

"Right. Sorry about that," the Windwalker called, hitting the release for the bay doors.

The hawk flew into the dark area, his violet-blue orbs expanding so that he could see in the dark. His sharp eyes picked out the strange form muffled in the tarp behind the empty crates on the floor. _Now what do we have here?_ Wraith mused. _Not a mole rat, but a human one. A stowaway, I think the spacers call it._

His talons closed gently on the tarp, drawing it away from the sleeping human.

Taryn awoke to find Wraith's violet-blue eyes hovering inches from his own.

With a start of pure terror he sat up, reaching for his blaster. Wraith's talons closed firmly over the boy's wrist, preventing him from pulling the blaster free. _"Don't even think about it, young man!"_

"Hey! Let me go, you blasted bird." Taryn sputtered. "I wasn't going to shoot you." He tried unsuccessfully to free his arm from Wraith's grip, but the hawk applied more pressure, making the boy yelp. "Ow! Watch it, that hurts, damn it."

"Wraith? What's going on down there?" Kyra called, coming to investigate. "Did you find the squirrel or whatever it was?"

She flicked the switch to the storage area, illuminating the bay with the sudden white glow of the ship lamps.

_"I caught a squirrel all right."_ The hawk shrilled. _"A sneaky offspring of a night haunt."_

Kyra approached, wrinkling her brow in puzzlement. "What are you talking about? Night haunts don't live on Coruscant." Then she rounded the corner of the storage crate and came face to face with Taryn, held firmly in place by an irate vorcel hawk.

"What the hell are _you_ doing here?"


	5. Chapter 5

"I decided to come along for the ride?" Taryn joked feebly.

Kyra's eyes flashed dangerously. "Not funny, Taryn Jinn. Have you lost your ever-loving mind, kid? This isn't some jaunt through the park."

Taryn gave her his best totally innocent look. "But I thought you were going to Salishar for some kind of reunion. That's what you _said,_ anyway. How dangerous is that?"

Something about the faint smirk on the kid's face and the sly gleam in his green eyes warned Kyra that he knew more about the reason she was heading to Salishar than he let on. It made her furious. In an eyeblink, she had caught her cousin by the collar of his tunic, hauling him up until his feet dangled off the floor. The vorcel hawk released the boy's wrist, sensing his restraint was no longer needed.

"How much do you know, you lying little sneak?" the Windwalker demanded, punctuating her question with a sharp shake. "You were eavesdropping, weren't you? You blasted brat! Didn't your mother ever teach you to respect other people's privacy? No? Well, she damn well ought to have a long time ago. Now how much did you hear? And don't even think about lying to me, boy, or else you'll be floating home to Coruscant!"

The boy's eyes were wide with fear, for she used the same tone on him that she would have on a criminal she was interrogating. But despite that, he gathered his courage and said, "I talk better without your hand trying to strangle me."

Kyra lowered him back to the deck. Then she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "Start talking. And you better come up with a good reason for being here, before I throw your sorry butt out the airlock."

He backed away from her two steps, eyeing her the same way he would have a poisonous snake. Then he said quickly, "All right, I'll admit I followed you. But that's only because your whole excuse about not racing didn't make sense. I was curious, so shoot me. Then when I saw you go into Uncle Qui-Gon's room, I thought it was because you wanted to complain about me, so I wanted to know what you said and how mad he was going to be. Then I realized you were going on some kind of mission, something that involved the Blood Serpent Alliance, and I know they're the worst scumbags in the galaxy."

"So you decided to sneak aboard my ship for the fun of it?"

"Why do you and the Jedi always get to have all the adventures?" Taryn snapped angrily. "It's not fair! Just because you can use the Force and I can't doesn't mean you're better than me. I'm sick and tired of being left out of everything interesting. The minute anything exciting comes along, I get told to stay home and behave myself like a good little kid. Well, this time I want to help and I don't care what you say. You're too far to turn around and bring me back now."

"This isn't a game, Taryn! People could die, probably _will_ die before this is over. This isn't like some video game where you lose and get to start over. This is real life. You could get hurt, maybe even killed, unless you know what you're doing. And I can't afford to be tied down with a kid, I need to focus on my mission."

"I won't tie you down. I can help, I know how to shoot a blaster and I was taught kung fu, so it's not like I can't defend myself."

Kyra sighed exasperatedly. "Look, you've never even been in combat. Much less killed anyone. The Snakes don't care if you're a kid, they'll nail you the same as they would anyone else. They don't know the meaning of the word mercy. That means you shoot to kill and think about it afterwards. Can you do that? I don't think so. And it's not fair to the rest of us to be worrying about you when we should be concentrating on them."

"I know I'm not a Starhawk like you, Kyra, but just let me try. Even if you don't want me to fight, maybe I could help you figure out who betrayed the Commander. I'm smart and good at figuring out things. Please?" he threw her a pleading look. "When the partisans attacked the palace, my dad just shoved me into a closet and locked the door. I knew why they were there, I knew they meant to kill him, I'm not stupid. And all I could do was listen to them laughing while they killed all the bodyguards and him too. You have any idea what that's like? I wanted to slaughter the bastards and instead I was stuck in a closet until Uncle Qui-Gon came and found me. By then it was too late. They were dead, and the only damn thing I could do was say I was sorry." Sudden tears stung his eyes, but he blinked them away.

"They did it to save you, little cousin," Kyra murmured, reaching out to hug the boy.

He jerked away, refusing to be comforted. "They'd have done better to give me a blaster and let me die with them. At least then I'd have done something useful, instead of becoming the poor relation no one wants."

"What do you mean? My father would never-"

"Kick me out?" Taryn finished. "Yeah, he's too nice to tell me to my face, but I know he doesn't want a little kid hanging around him, especially one like me. I know I screwed up with him, I know what he thinks of me. I'll never be perfect, like his Jedi trainees, the way the nephew of a Jedi Master ought to be. So why bother trying? To him I'll always be an annoyance."

Kyra shook her head. "You're wrong. You're his family, the only one he's got except for me and Mellin. He cares a lot about you. He doesn't expect you to be perfect, no one can ever be that, not even him. Gods, you think _I'm_ perfect? Not by a long shot. I make mistakes the same as anyone else. And get yelled at just like you. But that's how we learn. If we never made mistakes, we'd never grow."

"That's not how he makes it seem." Taryn said stubbornly.

"Of course. not. He's an adult, they need to have something to yell at us for, else they'd be bored out of their minds. They don't want to make it too easy for us. Nothing worth doing ever is, you know."

"That's why I have to go with you. I'll never get another chance like this. You can understand, can't you?"

Kyra recalled a time long ago, when she was a bit older than Taryn was now. The time when she had gone into Blackthorn Swamp on a dare from one of her schoolmates, to prove to them she was as brave as her Commander mother. Except she had gone not just for them, but for herself and her mother as well. To show Ilaren that she was worthy to be a Starhawk officer. That had been the time she had gotten attacked by the Mydoran swamp cat. And afterward she had been punished for her wandering by embroidering an entire tapestry for two weeks. But Ilaren had been hiding a smile when she issued that order, and Kyra knew that her daring had secretly pleased her mother. So she could empathize with her cousin's longing to prove to himself and others that he too was worthy of his Name.

"I understand. But I can't let you be involved in this." Kyra told him regretfully. "This is simply too dangerous. And my father would never forgive me if anything happened to you."

"That's dumb!" the boy stormed. "I just finished telling you, he thinks I'm an annoying brat. He'd probably thank all the gods if I was gone."

"Maybe he wouldn't feel like that if you stopped being a smartass for once and told him what you just told me." Kyra pointed out. "Now quit being a pain. We reach Salishar in about five hours. And as soon as I can arrange it, you're going back to Coruscant on the first available shuttle, kid."

"Kyranon! That's not fair!" Taryn whined.

"Life isn't fair. So deal with it." The Windwalker said sternly. _Gods in a circle, but I sound just like my father. _"And don't get any ideas about trying to run off once we get there. I'll find you quicker than you can blink and I'll wallop your behind for being such an idiot."

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me. You forget, I'm not a Jedi like my father. I'm a Starhawk, and if anybody ever deserved a good beating it's you. So don't test me, or else you'll be sorry."

She returned to the cockpit before she lost her temper and said something she would regret later. _This is all I needed. A tagalong spoiled brat. Somewhere, the gods are having a good laugh at my expense, I swear it._

* * * * * *

They spent the next three hours in an uneasy silence, neither willing to exchange more conversation, Kyra because she feared she wouldn't be able to control her temper and Taryn because he was sulking, his knees drawn up to his chest, his arms resting across them.

At last, Kyra decided to try and attempt a conversation, for the silence was grating on her already taut nerves. "Do you want something to eat? There's some freeze dried packs in the locker, you could microwave them."

Taryn lifted his head from his knees and shrugged. "Okay. You want some?"

"Yes. I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything since this morning."

Taryn sprang off the seat to get the ration packs and pop them in the tiny microwave. In thirty seconds the freeze-dried version of a chicken pot pie was ready. Snatching some plastic spoons from the compartment where the rations were stored, the boy carried the steaming containers up to the cockpit.

"Your dinner, Captain," he said, giving her a salute with one of the spoons.

"Thanks, cadet." Kyra flashed him a smile, taking a chicken pot pie from him. "Not bad as far as freeze dried goes," she remarked, tasting it. "Could use a bit more salt though."

Taryn tasted his own. "Who cares? I'm so hungry I could eat plasti-steel." He dug into his portion with the typical appetite of a starving ten-year-old.

Kyra smiled, and thought wistfully, _If these were different circumstances, I could almost get to like the little brat. He reminds me of myself at that age._

_ You weren't half so bad, Chosen! _Wraith objected. _That one's trouble with a capital T._

_ Maybe so, but I was no angel either, my friend. I didn't have his mouth, but I had his daring._ Kyra informed the hawk, eating her dinner with the single-mindedness of an old campaigner.

They had just finished eating when a sudden blow rocked the ship, nearly knocking Wraith from his perch. The vorcel hawk hissed and flapped his wings, recovering himself with a lithe twist.

"What the blazes was _that_?" Taryn demanded, grabbing the armrest. "Something hit us."

"Blaster bolt." Kyra answered. "Tactical!" she snapped at the computer. A weapons profile schematic came up on the screen. "Evasive action. Deflectors up."

The screen lit as the computer engaged the deflector shields.

The com panel began blinking furiously, emitting a series of shrill beeps. Kyra hit transmit. _"Mayday! Mayday! This is Republic ship 226 Hawkmoon, requesting immediate assistance! Under attack by five, repeat five, hostiles. Can anyone read me?"_

"On screen." Kyra ordered.

Above her the tactical display now showed a long-range X-wing fighter surrounded by five pear-shaped ships sporting four tentacle-like arms, each one bearing a gun at the end. "Damn! That's what I was afraid of." Kyra muttered upon catching sight of the enemy ships.

"_Hawkmoon_ this is _Phantom._ Read you loud and clear. Will assist. Do you copy?"

"_Hawkmoon _copies. Appreciate it, now move your ass. Things are getting a little hot down here."

"You're going to engage?" Taryn exclaimed.

"Well, I'm sure as hell not going to sit here and watch. That's a Starhawk fighter down there. Those other spider-like ships are Snakes. What do you say we squash them?"

"But this is a scout. I thought we didn't have the firepower to engage a real battle ship."

"We don't, if we were facing a destroyer. But these are single fighters, and _Phantom_ can outmaneuver them any day of the week." She turned to the boy. "Strap yourself in, kid. Looks like you got your wish, you'll see real combat after all."

"You mean, we're going in?" he waved a hand at the flashes of light that were the battling ships.

"Affirmative, kid. I hope you can shoot as well as you claim, hotshot, because you're my gunner. Use your targeting computer. I'll fly, you shoot. Think you can handle it?"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am!" Taryn answered, his eyes shining with eagerness. He tugged the straps down over his shoulder and took the gun controls situated in the co-pilot's control panel.

"Then let's go squash us some bugs, cadet!" Kyra grinned, hitting the throttle to full.

_Phantom_ leaped eagerly into the fray, slicing around the main battle with the speed of a wind demon. "Fire at will, cadet!" she ordered.

The laser cannon began to blaze, taking out the wing of an enemy fighter, sending the unfortunate ship into a downward spiral.

"I got one!" the boy shrieked.

"Nice shooting, kid. Now hang on. I'm going to draw some of their fire." Kyra took the ship over and under the Snake fighters' perimeter. "Come on, you slimy demon-spawned bullies!" she taunted the other ships. "Let's see how you handle a real fight."

She banked hard, dodging the return fire of the Snake fighters as they turned in pursuit. The scout's engines roared as she accelerated, bringing the ship about in a hairpin turn, blaster bolts skipping off the shields like raindrops.

Taryn returned fire, the laser cannon blazing, hitting the left-most Snake fighter in the side. "Ha! Take that, you scumsucking son-of-a-slitch!" he concentrated his fire on the injured ship, battering the damaged fighter until it broke off the attack and retreated.

"Oh, no you don't! No running away today, little basilisk." Kyra hissed, pursuing the limping ship and bringing it down with one well-placed shot.

She looped _Phantom_ about in a 180-degree turn. "How you doing, Taryn?" she called.

"I-I'm fine, Captain!" he said somewhat shakily. "Let's get the rest of those gutter-bred pieces of trash!"

_"You said it, boy!" _Wraith screamed a battle cry. _"Now we teach those weasels a lesson they'll never forget. Hit them hard, young one."_

_Phantom_ streaked into the center of the battle, guns blazing. _Hawkmoon_ rose beside her, matching her sister battleship move for move.

_"That'll show those sneaky basilisks! Thanks for the assist, Phantom. Watch your six."_ The captain of the _Hawkmoon_ called, spinning his ship's nose about to engage one of the remaining tentacle-like fighters.

"You're welcome!" Kyra yelled back, moving forward to take the other enemy. As she had told Taryn, the Snake battleship might have more firepower, but the scout could fly rings around the spider-like craft, accelerating and turning quicker than light, like the specter she was named for.

The Windwalker used every scrap of the scout's maneuverability, flying in lightning like swirls and sorties, weaving in and out of the Snake's range like a firefly. But one with a sting. The adrenaline of battle flowed through her, and she felt her blood race, her pulse quicken and the Force blaze through her in a silver streak.

Her Force-linked senses guided the _Phantom_ in a series of twists and spins that left her opponents blinking and wondering what the hell kind of enemy ship could dodge laser fire at nearly point-blank range.

Next to her, Taryn breathed sharply, his hands and eyes working simultaneously as he sought out the weaknesses in the enemy battleships and exposed them with several quick shots. He was as good a shot as he had claimed, hitting his targets nine times out of ten, seeming to know instinctively where the Snakes were most vulnerable.

Another tentacle ship fell to his coordinated bursts of laser fire, exploding in a searing ball of flame.

"Three down, two to go!" Taryn crowed. "Let's finish these scumbags!"

"One for us, one for the _Hawkmoon_." Kyra said. The scout slipped up on the remaining Snake like a hawk on a mouse, catching the unprepared fighter with five devastating shots, turning the spider craft into a flash of yellow flame.

"Yes! You're toast, slimeball!" Taryn whooped.

"Give my greetings to Darth Majestrix." Kyra said quietly, her eyes blazing. "_Hawkmoon, _this is _Phantom._ That takes care of the last spider. You take any heavy damage?"

"Negative. Nothing to bother your head about, _Phantom_. That was some slick flying, by the way. You an ace?" the pilot asked, using the term for a combat pilot.

"I used to be." Kyranon answered. "Former Starhawk officer, Captain."

"Oh? Figured that, from the way you roasted those serpents. Thanks again for saving my tail. Thought for a minute the gods were going to call me home." The other said. "Anytime you want a job, look me up. I could use a good wingman. What's your name, anyway?"

"Kyranon Jinn. Formerly Lieutenant Aranell, callsign Boreal."

"Kyra?! Gods in a circle, is that really you? This is Will Draco."

"Scimitar!" she exclaimed. "Holy stars! When did they give you command of a squadron, daredevil?"

He laughed. "When they realized I was the best damn pilot in the fleet."

"After me, you mean, Captain." Kyra quipped. "Congratulations, Will. If anyone deserves a promotion, it's you. How'd you end up with five Serpents on your tail, anyway? You slipping in your old age?"

"You wish! They came out of nowhere. One minute this sector was clear, the next I had five bogeys on my scope, all armed to the teeth. It was like somebody conjured them." Draco answered. "So, you a Jedi now or something?"

"Not quite. I'm a Windwalker."

"What in hell's that?"

"Let's just say I'm a bit more powerful than an ordinary Knight." Kyra told him.

"What are you doing in this neck of the woods?"

"Got bored and thought I'd check up on you." The former Starhawk smirked. "Actually, the Commander sent for me. Seems like you've got a problem with Snakes."

"Yeah, we have some backstabbing little vipers crawling around." Scimitar answered shortly. "As you can see. By the way, who's your gunner? That was some damn good shooting."

"My cousin." Kyra turned to Taryn, who had been sitting in wide-eyed silence listening to the two former comrades banter. "Taryn Jinn, say hello to Captain Will Draco, callsign Scimitar. He was my sponsor during basic. And one of the best pilots I've ever flown with."

"Hello, sir." Taryn answered.

"Got to hand it to you, kid, but you can fight." Draco said. "You nailed those Serpents good. Like a real ace. You seen a lot of action?"

"No, sir. This was my first real combat. Outside of a simulation, that is."

"Flipping hell! You're not serious? First time out of the box and you nail three targets. I've heard of beginner's luck, but this is pushing it. Kyra, is he a Jedi?"

"No, he's my ten-year-old cousin." The Windwalker told the Starhawk.

"Oh, that's funny." Draco snorted. "Tell me another one, Boreal."

"She's not kidding, sir." Taryn cried. "I really _am_ ten."

For a moment there was silence on the other end of the comm.

Then came the Starhawk's response. "Have you lost your _mind_, Lieutenant? Taking a minor into combat with you?!"

Kyra scowled at the sharp tone. "It wasn't like I had a choice, sir." She told him, reverting automatically to addressing him by his rank. "He sneaked on board my ship. But he's going home as soon as I get to Salishar."

Taryn gasped. "_What?_ But Kyra, you can't do that!" the boy protested. "I'm an ace, you heard what the Captain said."

"Taryn . . ." Kyra began exasperatedly.

"I hate to say this, kid, but she's right." Draco interrupted. "Good as you are, this is no place for a kid your age."

"But, you said-" Taryn began.

"That was before I knew you were ten, boy. War's not a game, Taryn. And whether you realize it or not, the Starhawks are at war here. Look, go back home and give yourself a couple of years, then come back and I'll recruit you. You've damn good instincts, it'd be a shame to waste them. Okay?"

Taryn remained stubbornly silent, glaring at the com panel.

"Don't be rude." Kyra reproved. "Answer him."

Taryn bit his lip, then at last he replied, "I guess so . . .sir."

"Hey, don't get all mad at me, boy." Draco commanded softly. "You did real good out there for a rookie. But it doesn't change the fact that you're a minor. The last thing you need is to get yourself killed before you've had a chance to live."

"Why does everyone assume I'm going to die if I'm with you?" Taryn demanded angrily.

"Because soldiers die in combat, boy. Even Starhawks." Draco responded. "All right, enough chitchat. I've got to report in, let my CO know what happened."

"Me too." Kyra said, darting a quelling glance at her cousin, who looked like he was about to interrupt. "See you topside, Will."

"Affirmative. _Hawkmoon_ out."

Muttering angrily. Taryn sprang out of the co-pilot's seat and headed for the rear of the ship, his fists clenched. Kyra looked at him, started to say something, then decided to let it go for now. Give him time to cool off. Maybe once he got over his temper he would realize that what the Starhawk Captain said was right.

Kyra smiled, thinking about Will Draco. He had been one of her best friends at Hawk Haven. She had missed him more than she realized.

"It's not fair!" Taryn murmured. "Why should my age have anything to do with it? How old is _he_, anyway?"

"Nineteen." Kyra called over her shoulder. "I think. Pretty young for an officer, especially a Captain. But he's a good leader and a pilot. Been decorated twice for valor and dedication to duty. He's Major Alirath's son."

"Huh? But his last name's Draco." Taryn frowned in puzzlement.

"So's Alirath's. For some reason, by the time you make flag rank, that's Captain-Commander and above, you only get called by your rank and your first name. Don't ask me why, it's always been done that way. In any other company, my mother would be Commander Aranell. In the Starhawks, though, she's Commander Ilaren. By the way, hotshot, you did really well for your first battle. Cool as ice."

"Yeah, well, I just pretended I was in a simulator."

"So you weren't afraid?"

"No . . .well, a little. At first. But then it went away." The boy admitted.

"Good. I'm always afraid before a battle. But that's normal. Fear is what keeps your edge sharp, keeps you alive. Or so my mother always said. Guess I better send her a message, let her know we're almost there." Kyra opened a channel and began transmitting.

Taryn sighed moodily and kicked the back of one of the chairs. He was in no hurry for this adventure to come to an end. He didn't want to go back to Coruscant, not only because he had to go to school, but also because he knew he'd have to face his uncle's anger once again for breaking his word. And though he would rather have been shot than admit it, the Jedi Master's opinion mattered a great deal to him. He hated Qui-Gon's lectures, knowing that once again he had come up wanting. _Just once, I'd like to hear him say he was proud of me. Just once. But who am I kidding? It'll never happen. My own father never said it, and he never will either. Wonder if this will finally crack that famous control of his? It'd almost be worth it, to see him act like a normal human being for once instead of a stone statue._ He thought unrepentantly.

Kyra transmitted a message to the Starhawk Command Control Center, informing Commander Ilaren that she had almost reached her destination and how she had assisted the _Hawkmoon_ with the five Serpent ships.

"Message acknowledged, Windwalker." The woman on the other end of the comm board said. "I'll inform the Commander immediately. Hold, please."

Kyra waited for what seemed an eternity before her mother's voice came on the channel. "Kyra! Thank the gods you've come. Who else is with you?"

"I'm alone for now, Mother. But Father said he's on his way as soon as he gets the Council's permission. And he'll bring along some help. In the meantime, it's just me." _And my brat of a cousin,_ she added silently.

"Guess that'll have to do for now." The Commander sighed. "Listen, as long as you're out there, perhaps you and Draco could go on a little mission for me. Those Snake ships weren't the only ones in this sector. They appear to know our flight patrol patterns almost before we make them. Which means the traitor is still in operation here. I've changed the patrol patterns, but my fighters are still being attacked. So far they've managed to come out of it alive, but sooner or later the odds are going to catch up to us."

"I know. What do you want me to do?"

"I want you and Draco to trail one of the Serpents back to their lair. Find out where they hole up and see if you can figure out how much they know about our defenses. What kind of ship are you flying?"

"She's a scout. Long-range reconnaissance fighter."

"Perfect. You've got stealth capabilities, then. Use everything you have. Including your Force talents. I need to know how much the Alliance knows about us, so I can prepare alternate defenses. Unfortunately, I don't know how long this breach in security has been leaking. It could have been months ago. Time enough for the Snakes to have gathered a fleet of destroyers and such together to mount an assault. All the recon craft I sent out so far haven't checked in, which suggest rather strongly that they've been killed. You and Draco are my wild cards, the ones this traitor can't anticipate."

"You're scrambling this message, right?" Kyra guessed.

"Of course. Anyone trying to tap this line won't hear anything but gibberish." Ilaren reassured her. "So, that's your orders, Windwalker. Any further questions?"

"If we do find the base and discover how much they know, should we destroy what's left?"

"Burn the place to the ground, girl." Ilaren ordered "This time the Snakes have gone too far. Now they suffer the wrath of the Starhawks. While you're doing that, Qui-Gon and I will hunt out the traitor in our midst. I don't think he's alone, he must have some help. Hopefully we nail the bastard quickly."

"May the gods grant your wish," her daughter said. "Shall I tell Captain Draco your orders?"

"No, I've already spoken to his CO. He's already prepping his fighter as we speak." Ilaren said.

At that moment, Taryn reappeared, throwing himself down in the co-pilot's chair with a scowl. _Gods in a circle, I forgot about him!_ Kyra thought frantically. There was no time for her to go to Salishar and drop him off, the Commander needed her to begin tracking the Blood Serpents without delay. "Uh, Commander, I have a slight problem."

"What's that? Your ship take damage?"

"No. But I have my cousin Taryn as an unauthorized passenger."

"Hellfire, you telling me you have a stowaway?" the Commander exclaimed. "Who is he, anyway?"

"Father's nephew. He's the ten-year-old son of the former governor of Malithar. His parents died last year, and Father was supposed to be watching out for him. But he sneaked on board my ship and I was going to send him back to Coruscant when I reached Salishar, only now I can't."

"Gods in a circle!" Ilaren groaned. "This is all we need!" She paused for a moment. "You're going to have to deal with this on your own, Windwalker. There's no way I can let you compromise your mission for the sake of one kid, no matter who he is. The Starhawks come first. All I can say is watch your six and don't let him out of your sight for an instant."

"I understand."

"I'll tell Qui-Gon where he is. This way he's not going crazy worrying about where the little brat's run off to." Ilaren promised. "May the gods watch over you. Good luck."

"Thanks, Mom. Good luck. End transmission."

Her cousin shot her a smug look. "Guess you're stuck me till the end of this mission."

The Windwalker frowned irritably. "Don't think just because I have to take you with me, you can treat this like some kind of adventure. You follow my orders to the letter. That means no back talk, no arguing, and no whining. When I say do something, just do it. No questions asked. If you don't think you can obey me, tell me now, so I can leave you locked up on the ship. Because there's no way I'm going to scrub this mission for anything, and especially not for a reckless spoiled brat who can't even manage to obey a simple request for once in his life."

Taryn flushed at the girl's stinging words, but he glared at her the way he would have done if an adult had said the same thing to him. "I can follow orders if I have to. I won't be in the way. I'm not some stupid highborn kid who's never been out of the palace in his life. I know how to take care of myself. You'll see." He told her fiercely.

_"This better be one promise you intend to keep,"_ Wraith put in. _"Else you'll deal with me, boy. And you won't like the consequences, that much I'll tell you."_

Taryn eyed the white hawk and gulped sharply. "I'll keep my word, Wraith."

"Good. Oh, that's another thing. You listen to Wraith and Captain Draco too. Obey them the same way you would me. Understand?"

Taryn nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Kyra gave him a smile. "I really wish you weren't involved in this, but since you are, we might as well make the best of it." She set the ship on autopilot. "We have about an hour or so before we meet _Hawkmoon_ at the rendezvous point. So what do you say we go down the storage bay and you can show me what you know about self-defense? I already know you can shoot like a pro."

"And will you teach me how to use a vibroblade?"

"If we have time." Kyra told him. "First, let's brush up on what you already know, then we'll give you something new." She led the way to the storage bay, Wraith perched on her shoulder.

By the end of half-an-hour, Kyra realized that Taryn had received thorough lessons in self-defense, demonstrating how to throw, hold, and disable an attacker enough so he could either run for help or wait until Kyra or Draco came and finished him off. Kyra was impressed at how well the boy fought, and said so. Of course, the boy wasn't anywhere near the level of the enemies he would be facing, but he was far more competent than Kyra had expected, given his background.

"You had a good teacher," she told the boy, watching as he demonstrated a cross block and snap kick combination.

"Yeah, he was the head of my father's security." Taryn panted. "He insisted I be taught martial arts. My father insisted it wasn't necessary, that was what bodyguards were for and personal shields, but Teel Arandyl said he was dead wrong. He said bodyguards could be killed and electronic defenses shorted out and then where would you be? He convinced my father to let me have basic lessons, but when he saw how much I liked it, he taught me more advanced techniques, more than my father would have let me learn on my own."

"That was smart of him." Kyra approved. "Starhawks believe that you should never depend solely on someone else to do your fighting for you. We say the best fighter is always prepared for anything. That's what the drill instructors do in basic, try and prepare you for anything you might have to face in actual combat. Sometimes it seems as if they're out to kill you, but in the end it's worth it."

"But you were the Commander's daughter," Taryn said. "Didn't they give you any breaks?"

The Windwalker laughed. "You're kidding, right? My being Ilaren's daughter didn't matter a copper bit. In basic, cadets are all the same, no matter who their parents are. I never got any special treatment. If anything, the instructors were twice as hard on me because of it. I had to prove I had what it took to be the future Commander of the Starhawks. Which means they made my life hell for twelve weeks and unbearable for the rest of the year." Kyra shook her head. "But I survived. And I didn't disgrace my sword or my House."

"And your mother, was she proud of you?" the boy inquired softly.

Kyra nodded. "She was, though I never knew it until she put an officer's wings on my uniform at graduation. Then she smiled and said I honored her House that I was a true First Daughter. It was one of the best moments of my life. That and when the Jedi Council decided to train me as a Windwalker."

_I wish my mother had told me she was proud of me. _Taryn thought enviously. _Now it's too late. Damn you, Mom, why couldn't you notice me once in a while, instead of being so wrapped in your stupid campaigns and political agendas? Why was your career more important than your own son?_ He punched out at the wall, trying to mask his frustration. He would never have an answer to that question. But knowing that didn't stop him from longing for one.

He halted his routine and said, "Can you show me some forms with the vibroblade now, Kyra? Please?"

She gave into his wide-eyed stare. "All right. Stand like this, with one foot behind the other." She demonstrated the basic stance. "Good." She removed her vibroblade from the clip on her belt, setting the power level to the lowest setting. "Now hold the hilt in your right hand and switch on the blade with your thumb."

The emerald blade ignited with a soft hum.

"The first thing you need to learn is a cross parry." Kyra instructed, falling naturally into her old patterns of training new recruits, which had been one of her duties as a Starhawk officer. "Bring your blade down and across your chest, like this . . ."

They spent the rest of the hour practicing the cross block. Kyra was a patient instructor, demonstrating the form again and again, making certain her student understood exactly how the move was done. Taryn was a quick study, however, picking up the rudiments quickly. _Huh. He's a natural._ Kyra thought in surprise. _Who would have thought it?_ His reflexes and balance made training him easier, as Starhawk sword forms were designed for a smaller warrior to have an advantage over a larger and stronger opponent. But despite his natural agility, she worked him harder, forcing him to exercise that potential to the fullest. When she called a halt, he was breathing hard and sweat was dripping into his eyes. In contrast, Kyra was not even winded.

She held out a hand for her vibroblade. "All right, cadet Jinn, you're dismissed for the day. Not bad for a novice."

"Thanks, Lieutenant." He said, giving her a salute. In spite of his exhaustion, his green eyes glowed.

Kyra clipped the vibroblade back on her belt. "We should be almost near the rendezvous point. Why don't you go and shower and take a nap? You won't be getting much sleep once we actually start tracking these vipers to their lair."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm a tough old peregrine, I can go for days without sleep if I have to." She clapped her hands sharply. "Move it, cadet! Before I give you five demerits for disobeying orders."

He gave her a puzzled glance. "What's that mean?"

"It means that if you were a Starhawk recruit, you'd be scrubbing pots and cooking dinner for a week." Kyra explained. "And since you wanted me to teach you how to handle a blade, I may as well treat you the same as I would a real cadet. So you get used to following orders. Now march!"

Taryn felt his spine stiffen automatically at the authoritative tone, as his normally rebellious nature protested her authority. But he forced himself to ignore it and did as she had told him. Without argument or question. It was hard. But he obeyed. And he had no way of knowing that by obeying that simple command he had taken the first step along a new path to maturity.

**How did you like Taryn? And the battle with the Serpent Alliance? Please let me know, the review button won't bite . . .though I might if I don't see some reviews soon! **

**Seriously . . .since I've been kind enough to post two new chapters, please be kind and review them both, I'd love to hear your thoughts!**


	6. Chapter 6

They had reached the rendezvous point, near a small planetoid in the middle of a dust cloud of space debris. It was desolate and silent, the perfect place for a clandestine meeting. The dust cloud prevented passing ships from picking up the Phantom and Hawkmoon on their scanners and the floating debris made it hard for the unaided eye to see the two ships amid the wreckage of burned battery cells and bits and pieces of scrap metal. Kyra tapped into the Force, reassuring herself that no enemies lurked just outside the dust cloud or within it. There were no hostile life forms anywhere near this sector. Good. At least we're safe for now. No one unscrambled that last transmission between the Commander and me.

Easing the Phantom between two large sections of what had once been a freighter, she immersed herself in the cloud of dust, setting her scanners to low power, which was the only way they could still function with this much interference. Then she settled down to wait, for she sensed that Captain Draco's ship had not arrived.

"The Captain is late." Wraith observed, ruffling his iridescent feathers. "Yet I sense no disturbance in the Force."

"Maybe he's just being cautious," Kyra said. "He doesn't have stealth capabilities the way the Phantom does. And he can't use the Force to tell if someone's following him."

"True. And a cautious warrior lives to fight another day." The vorcel hawk blinked his violet-blue eyes. "This Captain Draco, he's one of Ilaren's best, is he not?"

"I think so. He's one of the best pilots I've ever seen, better than almost anyone in the officers corps. He's the one who taught me how to fly. Once he's inside a ship he's like some winged metal bird, it all comes naturally to him. He doesn't even have to think about it. Not only that, but he's one of the coolest combat veterans I've ever served under. Once, we were pursuing this nasty bunch of slavers halfway to the spice mines of Kessel, and they pulled a fast one, went to lightspeed, got ahead of us, then came out and surrounded us. They outnumbered us three to one, bigger ships, more firepower, everything. I was sure were done for. So did the rest of my squad. About half us were rookies, never been in combat before. Three of my buddies started to panic, saying we were going to die, or end up slaves or something. They were all for bugging out. But Scimitar, he just told them to settle down, that one trick didn't mean the battle was lost. He acted like this was just another exercise, like we were taking a walk down the street, not stuck in the middle of an ambush. Cool as ice."

"So what did he do?" Taryn asked.

"He split us up into pairs, four each. That's a standard Starhawk patrol, eight fighters. Then he played the best game of cat and mouse I've ever seen. He made those slavers think we had at least twice as many fighters as we did, he used our ships speed to confuse them. When we attacked, it was in quick bursts, shoot and then bolt away. But we had to make every shot count. We aimed for their shield generators and their viewports, taking out as many as we could. Once their shields were down or their view screens damaged, it was easy to sneak up their tail and disable them."

"You didn't blast them to pieces?" Taryn queried, disappointment written on his face.

"No. You see, we didn't know if they had any innocent people aboard. We couldn't risk destroying their ship and killing them. Starhawks never kill unless ordered, they're not vigilantes. They capture and arrest and bring to trial. Only if there's no other choice do they kill. Criminals hate us because of that. They'd rather die than be placed in a detention center. And they know that once a Starhawk patrol pursues, we don't quit until we've got whoever we're hunting. Unless we're dead. And even then some of the crooks claim a Starhawk will haunt them from beyond the grave."

"So what happened with the slavers?"

"Eventually, we disabled all of them. And only lost one of our own. He miscalculated a jump, flew right into the path of a missile. Nothing we could do. But considering the odds, it was a miracle any of us made it out of there. Captain Draco has the luck of the gods. We got all the fat slugs and released all their slaves. The slavers were so damn scared when we came aboard their vessels, they nearly passed out. The Republic deals very harshly with their kind of lowlife scum, and they knew there'd be no getting away from a Starhawk patrol. It was the pits of Tyrannis for them, labor for life. One of them threw himself at Scimitar's feet, told him he'd give him a million credits if he would let him go. Draco just looked at him like he was a cockroach and said, "I don't cut deals with bugs, I squash them. If it were up to me, you'd be dust. Now quit dribbling all over my boots, you're ruining the polish." Then he slapped some restraints on him and threw him in the cargo hold with the rest of them." Kyra shook her head. "That's Scimitar for you. He can reduce a criminal to jelly with one glance. Or an insubordinate soldier, for that matter. Just like Alirath. It must run in the family."

Runs in your family too, Taryn thought, flinching a little at the memory of Kyra's glacial glare when she had first discovered him in the storage bay. It had taken every ounce of defiance he could muster to stand up to her, her stare had scared him worse than even Qui-Gon's reproving glare. At least with the Jedi Master you knew there was still a chance to get yourself off, but Kyra's glare was as implacable as a blaster bolt and as unforgiving.

"Why do you use callsigns when you fly?" Taryn said after a moment. "No other organization really does."

"It's a way for us to identify ourselves without revealing to the whole galaxy that we're Starhawks, for one." Kyra told him. " Also, a callsign is shorter than having to use name and rank when you're in the middle of a fight. Less easy to get confused. Every Starhawk who's a pilot memorizes everyone else's callsign, the same way you'd memorize a friend's comm number."

"Isn't that hard?"

"Not really. We're taught tricks to memorize names and lists in the Academy, and there're only about four hundred us who fly routinely, the rest of us are administration and ground troops."

"Do your callsigns mean anything?"

"Yes. Draco's callsign, Scimitar, is a type of sword they used to use back before lightsabers and vibroblades were invented. It was a short curved blade with an edge that could penetrate any armor they could make at the time. Very deadly. My callsign, Boreal, means the North wind in some ancient language. The wind that's cold and frozen and can mean death to an enemy. We try and pick callsigns that mean something to us personally. And no Starhawk pilot has the same callsign, so we always know who's talking to us. That's how I knew it was Scimitar talking to me once he told me his name and vice versa."

"What about when a pilot dies?"

"We remove his callsign from the roster. But we don't erase it from the database. And a new pilot can't use a dead one's callsign. We think it's bad luck to use the name of a dead comrade. Tempting the gods, so to speak."

"You ever run out of names?"

"Not yet." Kyra laughed. "We use alien languages too, so I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon."

The comm panel whistled, using the scrambled code that indicated it was Draco, just as Wraith said, "I believe your Scimitar has finally arrived."

"Better late then never." Kyra flipped the switch.

"Hawkmoon to Phantom. Sorry I'm late. Do you copy?"

"Loud and clear, sir. What happened? You run into a shadow?"

"Negative. Just thought I'd play it safe," came Draco's response. "You ready to hunt down some vipers, Boreal?"

"You bet, Scimitar." Kyra grinned. "What's our coordinates?"

"Two point six parsecs outside of the Golgothian run. Seems that's the major lane those pirates use to make their jumps to hyperspace. We'll wait around there for some little worm to show himself, then trail him back. Your ship can put a trace on just about anything short of a plasma mote, correct?"

"She sure can. The Jedi don't buy inferior starships, Captain." Kyra reassured the Starhawk.

"They don't buy inferior anything." Taryn remarked.

"Hey, who's that with you?" Draco asked. "Thought you were supposed to be running solo."

"I was, but I didn't have time to drop off my passenger before the Commander sent me out again."

"Ah, gods and hells." Scimitar swore softly. "Well, this won't be the first mission I've been on where I've had unauthorized personnel tag along."

"You've had a stowaway before?"

"Yeah. My little brother thought it would be a good joke to hide from his friends in my fighter when they were playing hide and seek. Only problem was he fell asleep before they found him and I got called out for recon duty." Draco chuckled. "I was almost to my patrol sector when he woke up and realized the ship was moving. He was about seven then. I damn near had a heart attack when he popped out of the rear hatch. "Hey, Will, where are we going?" he says, like we were going down to the beach or something. Crazy kid."

"What did you do?"

"Radioed my CO, told him what happened. He said to fly my sector anyway, it was pretty quiet. So we did. He loved it. But boy did he catch hell from my father when we got back."

"I can imagine. Alirath's temper is almost as bad as my mother's when he's riled." Kyra said.

"You can say that again. Kevin got his butt whipped good for that stunt, I'll wager. Now that I think about it, he reamed my ass out too for not checking my ship's hatches before I took off. Gods in a circle, but I never made that mistake again." The Starhawk said ruefully. "Hey, maybe I ought to yell at you like that, Boreal, the way I used to do in basic. So next time you remember to check your lifeform readings before you get off the ground."

"Spare me the lecture, please, Captain. I know it was stupid, and I'm sure I'm going to hear plenty from the Commander once I get back."

"All right, I'll let you off. This time. Since the Commander will make whatever I say seem like a slap on the wrist." Draco said. "Hey, kid. Once we trail our mark to the base, you stick to Kyra like a shadow, you hear? No trying to play hero and take out the enemy on your own. That's not what we're here for. You get yourself killed and I'll follow you to heaven and kick your ass, got it?"

"Yes, sir, Captain. I'm not stupid, I know when to keep my head down." The boy answered, more respectfully than Kyra had ever heard him.

"Good. Just keep that in mind in case you're tempted to disobey me." Will sighed. "You remind me of my kid brother. A magnet for trouble. Like lightning in a bottle. Let's move out. The sooner we track these Snakes, the sooner we can nail their sorry skins to the wall."

"Affirmative, Captain. Phantom out."

* * * * * *

Kyra reached the programmed coordinates and quickly activated the stealth cloak that was a part of a recon ship's major defenses. With cloak in place all the Phantom had to do was wait. After contacting Scimitar to inform him she was in position, she settled down to do just that. She put her self in a light trance, extending her Force awareness outward in a shimmering web. Anything resembling the dark aura of a Serpent ship brushing against her Force web would set off tremors, much like a fly brushing against a spider web.

Fifteen minutes later she heard Taryn sigh and whine, "I'm bored. Are we just gonna sit here all day?"

Kyra opened one eye and looked over at the dark-haired boy sprawled in the seat beside her. "This is what it's like on a real mission, Taryn. Sitting around and waiting. It's not at all running and shooting like they tell in the stories or you see in the movies."

"But I'm so bored I'm going to fall asleep." The boy complained.

"Start thinking about ways you can trail those crooks." The Windwalker told him.

"Personally, I think it'd be a relief if he did fall asleep." Wraith said pointedly in Kyra's mind. "That way we won't need to worry about what he's doing while our back is turned."

Believe me, bondmate, I'd rather have him in front of me where I can keep an eye on him then back here alone with the ship. At least if he's with me, I'll know he's not trying anything stupid. Kyranon told the hawk. She fell into her trance again, her conscious mind drifting.

Almost two hours had passed before she felt a tingle of negative energy in the Force, alerting her to danger. Her eyes snapped open and she probed with the Force. Yes, there was definitely a ship out there, one that bore people who had a definite aura of the Dark Side about them. They did not radiate the pure evil aura of a Sith, but they were dangerous and no friend to the Light.

"Wraith, do you feel that?" she whispered softly, not wanting to wake the sleeping Taryn.

"The Serpents come, Chosen." The hawk trilled gently, his violet-blue eyes blazing in eagerness. He half spread his wings in flight.

Kyra flipped the switch to her scrambled comm unit. "Scimitar, the Snakes are going to be arriving shortly. Get ready."

"How can you tell? It's quiet on all my scanners."

"The Force tells me."

"Oh, right. I forgot you can sense things like that. About time too. Get off the comm now. Don't want them picking up anything unusual out here." He ordered softly.

"Aye, sir." Kyra answered and did as she had been told.

"What is it?" a sleepy voice said into the silence. "Is something finally happening?" Taryn sat up, rubbing his eyes. "Did I miss anything?"

"No. The Snakes are coming in our direction, but they're not in range yet."

"Oh." The boy yawned and reached for a bottle of water resting on the console. He drank thirstily for a moment. "The air here makes my throat dry," he said, wiping a sleeve across his mouth.

Kyra nodded and did not bother to reply, all her senses were straining to the utmost. She could feel the presence of the Alliance cruiser drawing nearer, like a black shadow it moved forward, shrouding all it touched with its darkness.

Just then the cruiser came within range of her long-range scanners, appearing on her screen surrounded by blue light. The recon scanners marked it as a medium cruiser with four proton torpedo banks and two ion cannon gun turrets, not too heavily armed for a ship of its class. It had medium deflectors shields up, but was not making any other attempt to conceal its presence, which meant the one in command of her did not fear pursuit by the Starhawks.

Taryn leaned forward in his chair, nearly jumping up and down in his eagerness, his eyes glued to the forward view port. Slowly, the Alliance cruiser came into sight, gliding through the endless night of space like a white specter, its huge engines flaring with yellow light, blue and white lights sparkling on her chrome hull like fireflies. She was a rough oval shape, her cannons mounted forward and to each side, her engines capped with fins like a shark. She looked as deadly as her name, which was emblazoned on her hull. Blood Talon, the boy read silently and felt his stomach clench.

He fought to keep his hands from trembling. For the first time he was truly scared, all his earlier bravado drained away. For the first time he came face to face with the knowledge that his impulsive decision to stow away on board the Phantom was not the smartest thing he had ever done. In fact, a small voice in the back of his head was saying it was probably one of the stupidest decisions he had ever made. But as he had told Kyra, it was too late to go back. He had no choice but to accept the inevitable.

He only wished he could stop thinking about what Captain Draco had said about soldiers dying in battle. He recalled with sudden clarity the Snake ship exploding in a ball of yellow flame. That could have been you. You could have been the one who was snuffed out, just like that, in a half a second. Like a candle flame being blown out. He shivered. Stop it! There's no reason for you to start going to pieces now. You've already been through one major fight and you came through all right. Quit acting like a baby and start acting like a Starhawk cadet.

"There it is!" he whispered, as if afraid the other ship could hear him.

"I see it." Kyra said. "Now let's slap a tracking device on it."

She typed a few commands into the computer console.

"Tracking device is on line." The Phantom's computer said.

"Target the ship directly ahead."

"Targeting." A red crosshairs appeared on the screen. "Target acquired. Awaiting orders."

"Release tracking device."

There was a barely perceptible hiss as a tiny compartment in the recon fighter's hull slid open. A blue streak flew across the screen and struck the green cruiser.

"Tracking device activated. Transmitting at 0600 frequency."

"Okay. Now we're in business." Kyra grinned. "Come on, little worm. Lead us home to your base."

The Alliance shuttle suddenly shot past them, accelerating sharply.

The tracking device blipped steadily, and the Phantom's tracking systems recorded it effortlessly.

"They're going to make the jump to hyperspace." Kyra muttered.

"How will we track them through that?" Taryn wondered.

"We won't have to. That's the beauty of the homing beacon. All we have to do is triangulate on its signal, and we can find them wherever they are. It's like following a trail of breadcrumbs."

There was a sudden flare of blue-white light as the Alliance cruiser made the jump to lightspeed.

"Hawkmoon this is Phantom. Target acquired. The ball is in play. Repeat, the ball is in play."

"Acknowledged, Phantom. Good work. Time to hunt our quarry to the earth."

"Aye, sir. Tracking beacon homing on the Alliance ship coordinates now." Kyra told the Starhawk. She consulted the map of the star systems. "Let's see, where would a nest of serpents like you make your home?" The homing beacon blipped then halted on a large red dot, blinking furiously. "Triangulate. Ah, of course. I should have known."

"Where are they?" Wraith asked.

"In a swamp. They're on Fenwort 7, Captain. Hold on, I'm transmitting the coordinates to your nav computer."

"That figures. The biggest pesthole in the Republic. Makes sense, I suppose." Draco said dryly. "Ever been there before, Windwalker?"

"No. But there's a first time for everything."

"Right. Word of advice, Fenwort is like its name, a swamp full of nasty things. All of the inhabitants are dishonest, vile, and criminals. And those are their good qualities. So you walk with one hand on your blaster or vibroblade and keep your eyes peeled. I won't wear my uniform there, Starhawks are persona non grata, as I'm sure you've guessed. It's combat fatigues for me, and if you've anything that identifies you as a Jedi or whatever don't wear it."

"My flight suit is standard, nothing unusual." Kyra told him, glancing at Taryn. The boy was wearing plain black pants and a black long-sleeved shirt, nothing that would give him away as the son of a planetary governor. "We'll be ready. Did the coordinates transmit, sir?"

"Got 'em. You lead, I'll follow. You won't be detected with your cloak up, so you can scout for a likely landing site. Not that there'll be many choices."

"I'll try to pick the one where we can be reasonably sure of claiming our ships when we need to." Kyra said wryly. "Awaiting your signal, sir."

"Go ahead, Boreal."

Kyra hit the controls and the Phantom soared after the Alliance shuttle. In less time than it took to breathe, the fighter was entering lightspeed, following the track of their quarry. They emerged from hyperspace next to a giant red and orange planet that glowed sullenly in the dark like a great brooding eye.

In another minute, Hawkmoon appeared several yards to their left. Kyra checked to make certain the cloak was still active, then she brought the Phantom down, searching for a suitable landing site.

"Better hold on to that blaster of your, Taryn." She advised. "Cause I think you're going to need it."

The boy nodded, his green eyes serious. "It was my father's, you know. The last thing I have of his."

"Yeah, well keep it close. This is no Senator's garden party we're crashing here. And whatever happens, you stay behind me. And if I tell you to run, you get the hell out of there. Don't stop for anything. Not even if I'm hurt. One of us has to make it back to Hawk Haven. Promise me, Taryn Jinn."

"I promise, Kyra."

"Good." She mock-cuffed him alongside of the head. "Just keep your head down and you'll be fine, kid. My word of honor."

Taryn managed a small smile. He was nervous, but somehow her words comforted him. She was a Windwalker after all. And whatever the Alliance goons could throw at them was probably no match for her powers. Or so he hoped.

**Sorry I took so long to update this I was very busy with other series and RL! **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hawk Haven, Salishar**

"What do you mean he sneaked aboard the Phantom?" Qui-Gon demanded, pacing back and forth in Commander Ilaren's office like a restless tiger. "He was supposed to be flying his swoop around Coruscant, not getting himself involved with the Blood Serpent Alliance." The Jedi Master ran a hand through his hair, his blue eyes smoldering with suppressed anger and worry. "What the blazes was he thinking? That—that irresponsible reckless little brat! He gave me his word. And I trusted him."

"Has he done this before?" Ilaren inquired, raising an eyebrow at the agitated Master. She had never seen Qui-Gon so close to the edge of his control.

"What, run away from the Temple? About once a week, if he can manage it. But he's never gone off planet before without permission." Qui-Gon answered. "I thought I was pushing him too hard, so I decided to give him a day off, without rules. And this is how he repays me. Mellin was right. Someone ought to tie him to a chair until he learns how to think before he acts." He turned to look at Ilaren. "I don't know what to do anymore, Ilaren. Got any suggestions?"

"If you're willing to take my advice, Qui-Gon."

"At this point, I'll try almost anything."

"Try talking to him when he gets back first. My guess is that this adventure will do one thing. It'll drive home the point that missions like this aren't a game, that they're deadly serious. It'll scare him like nothing else will. He'll learn pretty quickly that adventures aren't fun, they're dangerous and dirty and scary as hell. I've had a few cadets like him, arrogant, cocky younglings who were sure they knew exactly what it was like to go into combat. After their first firefight, they had all the arrogance knocked out of them."

"But I don't want him to get hurt. Ilaren, he's only ten years old."

"Old enough to take responsibility for his actions, wouldn't you say?" the Commander inquired. "Sometimes, Qui-Gon, that's the only way they learn. You can't keep him tied to you forever. He's not the type to stand for that."

"You're right. But he's Sarin's only son. I can't help wanting to protect him."

"Believe me, I understand what you're going through. I wore myself to shreds the first time I sent Kyra out on a scouting mission alone. But at least she had my permission to go and she was trained for it. Not like your scamp of a nephew."

"That's what I mean. He doesn't even know how to defend himself."

"Relax. Kyra's with him. She'll look out for him."

"Great. Now I have two of them to worry about." Qui-Gon grumbled. "So that's your advice, Commander? To ask him how he feels after he comes back and hope he's learned his lesson? Doesn't sound like a Starhawk philosophy to me."

"You didn't let me finish. Talk to him first. Then give him a couple of whacks for breaking his word and scaring you like that. He certainly deserves it. It won't kill him. And he'll learn that even a Jedi's patience has limits. Trust me."

"That's what Kyra said. He's been asking for a good smack for a long time now, only I was afraid if I hit him it would only make him more rebellious and drive him away for good."

"Let me ask you something. You still have some memories of when you were little, when you lived with your parents, right?"

"Yes."

"And I'm sure you got into trouble, like any normal kid. Touched something you shouldn't or something, and you probably got a smack on the behind for it, am I right? Thought so. Now, did you hate your mother for that? Did you say to yourself, she's mean and I'm going to run away and never come back?"

"Of course not. I knew I deserved it."

"Exactly. And so will Taryn." The Commander smiled. "I can't believe we're having this conversation. The last thing I expected was to have to give you advice on parenting."

"The last thing I ever expected was to need it. Guess that'll teach me not be so self-assured. I thought I could handle anything after my apprentices. But none of them ever tested me like Taryn."

"Just goes to show you, my dear, no one is perfect. Not even a Jedi Master. Or a Starhawk Commander. Now quit pacing like that, you're starting to wear a hole in my carpet." She ordered with a grin. "Sit down and we'll go over the list of possible suspects again. Can you Truth Read someone without them knowing, or do you have to get their permission first?"

Qui-Gon did as she had ordered, seating himself in the chair beside her desk, which was crowded with papers and a small computer. "Normally, I would always ask permission before I Truth Read, that's one of the unwritten courtesies a Jedi practices. Respect for an individual's privacy. But in this case, where we need to find and expose a traitor, I won't ask first. But Truth Reading only allows me to tell if someone is lying about what he or she says. I can't read their mind."

"But I thought all Jedi could do that!"

Qui-Gon shook his head. "That's a myth. We can sense deception in others, but unless we're naturally telepathic, the way some species are, we can't look inside someone's head and listen to their thoughts. So you see, my dear, you never had to fear that I would invade your privacy like that."

She flushed. "I know that now. I was young and stupid."

"So was I." He took her hand in his own. "I never should have left you."

"And I never should have let you go," she answered. Their eyes met. And in each of them sparked a bright flame. Abruptly, the Commander regained her composure. "We can discuss that later. Now we have bigger things to worry about. Such as exposing a leech." She pushed a list of names across the desk at him. "These are my suspects so far."

He rose to his feet. "Wait a minute. I want to let Obi-Wan, Master Danae, and Adie Gallia take a look at these too, since they'll be helping me."

He opened the door to the office and beckoned his apprentice and the other two Jedi into the room. "Now, here's who we must watch out for," he told them, showing them the list.

The list contained a total of five names on it, all those officers high enough in rank to expose the Starhawks security system and passwords. Even Major Alirath was on it. So too were Major Tasha Niklovitch and Captain-Commander Faro Seventrees.. And Sean Androvak. The last name on the list was young Felicia Malone, who had recently made flag rank last year. Out of all the officers in Hawk Haven, these were the only ones who would have access to all the security codes and passwords.

"Of course, these are only the major suspects. I'm sure you all realize the informer, whoever he or she is, had help." Ilaren told the Jedi. "That's where you come in. So far the informer is aware of only one thing. That I know my security has been breached. Not who or why. They know I've lost a good amount of my men on those five patrols. That's the reason I called you Jedi here, to help me make up the difference. Or so the informer believes."

"But won't whoever did this be watching you to see what you'll do?" asked Master Danae, a tall, pale-haired woman in her middle fifties. "And us as well?"

"Watching me, yes. But not you. Thus far, you're no threat to them. And I can pretend confusion if I have to, at least long enough to discover who among my people has turned traitor and betrayed their oath. Whoever it is will regret it to their dying day, that much I will promise!" Ilaren declared softly, and the steely look in her green eyes made even Qui-Gon flinch.

The lean Jedi Master said, "We need to approach this logically. So, here's what we should do. I will deal with the flag rank officers, since I hold nearly the same position, and they are familiar with me from years ago. Adie Gallia, you and Master Danae will take the medium level officers, the Captains. Obi-Wan, you talk with the young Lieutenants and cadets, most of them are around your age and will speak more freely to you than to any of us. Act like you know nothing. Talk with them, gain their trust, and watch them carefully. Try to spot any unusual behavior patterns. Listen to the Force. Use it to judge character. If you find someone you think may have compromised their oath, come tell me or the Commander immediately. Don't expose yourself unless absolutely necessary. Hopefully we can catch this shadow before too much damage is done."

"And once we do? Then what, Master?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Leave that part to me, young Jedi." Commander Ilaren told him. "Find the traitors. I'll give them the punishment they deserve. Any questions? No. Dismissed then."

The four Jedi bowed to her and left the office, Qui-Gon saying softly, "I'll show you where you can stay. May the Force be with you all."

Commander Ilaren waited until the door had shut behind her, then she put her face in her hands. Gods in a circle, which one of you is it? She thought for the hundredth time. How could you have betrayed everything we believe in? All of you were my friends, my family, or so I thought. But one of you sold me out to the Snakes. I hope it was worth it. Because one way or the other, it's the last time you'll do something like that ever again. I, Ilaren of House Aranell swear it, by my sword and my honor!

She massaged her head, trying unsuccessfully to rid herself of the headache that had settled there since the hour she had discovered there was a traitor in Hawk Haven. She was glad of one thing. That with Qui-Gon's arrival she had one person she could trust implicitly, with her life if necessary. Once you trusted him with more than that, a small voice in the back of her mind whispered. Once you gave him your heart as well.

But that had been long ago, when she was still young and foolish enough to be overwhelmed by passion. Now she was older, wiser. She knew that love did not take precedence over her duty. And yet . . .when she had seen him step off that transport and come towards her, it was as if she was seeing him for the first time all over again. And she knew that if she was not careful she would forget all she had learned.

For though he had walked away that day on Sethanar Beach sixteen years ago, walked away and never looked back, he had taken her heart with him. The heart she had given away long ago, never to be reclaimed.

* * * * * *

Qui-Gon Jinn settled back in the recliner in the guest quarters the Starhawks provided for those few visitors to come and see Hawk Haven. They were not the lush appointments you might find as the guest of a Senator or public official, such as he had stayed in before when his missions had took him into the spheres of the wealthy and powerful. But neither were they bare and unwelcoming. They were comfortable, tastefully decorated, containing a bedroom and sitting room with a recliner, a sofa, and a long table with a vase of white and gold flowers called amberdrops.

The flowers brought memories of another time, memories that he had thought buried beneath the weight of time and duty, never to be resurrected. Yet seeing the amberdrops brought them back, drifting like phantoms of the underworld to disturb his carefully guarded thoughts.

Ilaren loved those flowers. Remember, how she used to walk barefoot through the meadow and twist them in her hair, like some woodland nymph out of legend? It was the only time, she used to say, that she regretted keeping her hair short. Because the flowers would never stay in her hair, but always fell about her like rain. She used to tease me, asking me to use the Force to keep them in place, asking me if I had ever used my powers for so frivolous a reason. "Surely you must, once in your life. For you weren't always the sober Jedi Knight you seem on the outside. I know you better." Then she would smile at me, that wonderful glorious smile, and I would have agreed to fetch the moon from the sky had she demanded it. Oh, Ilaren, beloved, I promised myself long ago that I would forget, for only then could I perform my duty as a Jedi. Yet some things cannot be forgotten, no matter how hard I try.

He closed his eyes, intending to meditate, to clear his mind and focus on the mission at hand, finding and exposing the traitor. But thoughts of the Commander kept intruding despite all his efforts at control. He frowned in irritation. What is wrong with me? I know better than to let personal feelings interfere with my mission objectives. Ilaren needs me, not as a lover, but as a comrade and friend. The only one she can trust. I know that, so why can't I put these blasted memories aside and concentrate on the task at hand? He scolded himself sternly. He was no longer the impulsive Jedi Knight, but a disciplined Jedi Master.

And yet . . .there had been more than friendship in the glance they had shared between them in her office. Much more than mere friendship. Passion had sparked between them, as strong and as wild as it had ever been sixteen years ago. Passion and love for the one woman who would forever hold his heart in her keeping.

For he loved her still, he admitted silently. And always would.

Beyond honor, beyond duty, beyond discipline.

He knew his thoughts would have brought frowns of disapproval from his fellow Masters, who prided themselves on their control.

Yet he did not care.

They could not understand, could not know, what Ilaren meant to him.

Only she had ever been able to crack that iron curtain of discipline, scale the wall of duty that surrounded his heart. As he had done for her.

His beloved, his heart, his soul. For now and forever.

Only two others had claimed as much of his heart. And none of them were Jedi.

One was his daughter.

The other, he realized to his utter shock, was Taryn.

For despite the boy's infuriating attitude and wild ways, he loved the young boy like a son. A reckless disobedient brat of a son who needs his ass kicked, but nevertheless, my son.

Strange how he always seemed to love those most inclined to drive him to distraction.

Perhaps that said something about him, he mused. That underneath all of that rigid discipline and iron will and serenity, there remained the same wild, passionate young man, the rebel that neither time nor duty could tame.

The Jedi Master smiled. And allowed his meditative trance to slip away for once.

He closed his eyes, and breathed in the perfume of the flowers. And lost himself in memories of Ilaren and what they had shared and still might share. Duty and obligation could wait for one more night.

He recalled the soft hiss of the ocean on the shore, the way the moonlight danced across the waves, and the feel of Ilaren's hand in his as they walked along Sethanar Beach, laughing.

* * * * * *

The next morning, Qui-Gon had resumed his normal air of disciplined calm. He began his investigation with Ilaren's second in command, Major Alirath, a medium sized, broad-shouldered man around Ilaren's age of forty. Alirath, like Qui-Gon, preferred to practice sword forms in the early morning and the Jedi had managed to get the officer to agree to a sparring match with him.

The dark-haired Starhawk was as lean and quick as a mountain cat, and nearly as skilled with a vibroblade as his commander. As they thrust and parried, Alirath said, "It's been a long time, Qui-Gon. I can tell you haven't lost any of your skill."

The Jedi dodged a sharp blow to his midsection. "No more than you have, Alirath."

The other smiled, blocking Qui-Gon's riposte, his hazel eyes gleaming. "I haven't lost my edge yet, thank the gods. Ilaren keeps me in shape. And so did your daughter when she was here. She was one of the best students I've ever trained. You must be proud of her."

"I am." The Jedi twirled his lightsaber, blocking Alirath's overhand blow. "You have children, right?"

"Yeah. Two sons." Alirath answered, increasing his attacks, trying to slip past his opponent's guard, driving Qui-Gon back two steps. "The older one is a Starhawk Captain, a good officer. My younger one looks like he'll follow his brother into the service, once he settles down and quits doing things that make my hair stand on end."

Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow at the other's exasperated tone. "I know what you mean. I have one of those at home too. My nephew." He brought his lightsaber around in a lightning quick backhand chop, almost catching Alirath, but the other slipped away.

Alirath grinned. "You too, huh? Guess there's one in every family." He went low, slashing at Qui-Gon's knees. "But they make our life interesting, don't they?"

"Too interesting." The Jedi remarked, leaping over the Starhawk's thrust. Then he came at the other man with a blinding set of forms that set the officer back on his heels, defending desperately to keep Qui-Gon's blade from his throat.

But Alirath was not so easily overcome. He recovered from Qui-Gon's rush and counterattacked, moving with the deadly grace of a hunting cat, matching the Jedi stroke for stroke. He lacked the Jedi's Force-amplified quickness, but he more than made up for that deficiency with his relentless endurance and determination. He drove the Jedi Master back around the practice ring, his vibroblade a mere aqua blur.

Panting, Qui-Gon gave ground, trying to come up with an attack that would penetrate Alirath's defense. While he was turning over the problem in his head, his concentration wavered for a split second, allowing Alirath an opening.

The edge of Alirath's sword stung his arm, making him wince.

"First blood, I believe." The Starhawk called, lowering his blade. "Shall we end it here?"

Qui-Gon saluted him with his green lightsaber. "As you will, Major. Your match." He powered down the lightsaber.

"For today, anyway." Alirath returned the salute, acknowledging his opponent's skill. He switched off his vibroblade, returning it to his belt. Then he walked over to the side of the arena where someone had left two bottles of ice-cold water for them. Probably one of the cadets, he thought, picking up one and handing the other to Qui-Gon. Trying to earn some points with him on their next training exercise. Not that it ever worked, he graded based on merit not favors, but he appreciated it.

He drank deeply, then turned to the Jedi Master and said, "But you didn't come all this way just to spar with me, old friend. I'll lay odds that this current mess with the bloody Snakes is why you're here."

"Dead on target, as always." Qui-Gon said, swallowing his own water. He had forgotten how perceptive Alirath could be, despite his open nature. It was why he was Ilaren's second. But could that innocent-seeming face hide a calculating hidden agenda? Qui-Gon didn't think so. Alirath was a friend, had been since he had first come to Salishar, one of the few who had accepted the young Jedi without reservations. But what if he was wrong? "Ilaren tells me you lost quite a few men this past two weeks." Qui-Gon said pointedly, using the term "men" generically, for Starhawks were both men and women.

Alirath scowled, his hazel eyes suddenly gone cold as winter. "The damned vipers took out five of our patrols, over twenty-five of us are gone. Dead, most likely. Flipping bastards! Somehow they managed to get past our security procedures. Can't figure how they did it, unless they had help from inside. And if that's the case, whoever it is better find a hole and pull it over him real quick, because once I find him, the only thing he better pray for is a quick death."

"You'd kill a fellow officer?"

"Hell, Qui-Gon, any officer that could betray us like that is no friend of mine!" Alirath spat. "Cutting a deal with the Alliance is like dealing with a demon, and any black-hearted bastard who can do that doesn't deserve the consideration I'd give a gnat, much less a fellow Starhawk. The only mercy I'll show him is the tip of my vibroblade through his heart, and that's if I'm in a good mood."

He stalked out of the arena, the Jedi following. Which was exactly what Qui-Gon had thought he would say. His words all rang unmistakably true, as the Force confirmed.

The Jedi breathed a sigh of relief. He had not thought his instincts were mistaken, but still he was glad the traitor was not Alirath. He would hate to have the dangerous officer as an enemy.

Well then. One down, four to go. But none of the others were as close to him as Alirath. He knew them as acquaintances only, not friends, which made it difficult to determine where their true loyalties lay.

"You have any idea who this mole could be, Alirath?"

The Major shook his head. "I wish like hell I did, old friend. But it's hard for me to suspect people I've worked with for years, people who have fought beside me and under me and saved my life, know what I mean? This traitor, whoever he is, or she for that matter, is someone I trained, someone I trusted. I gave them the skills they needed to pull this off."

"You shouldn't blame yourself, Major. You aren't responsible for the choices your students make once they leave you."

The Starhawk snorted. "Easy for you to say, Qui-Gon. When's the last time you had an apprentice betray you, Jedi Master?"

"Ten years ago." Qui-Gon replied softly. "He became a Sith Lord named Darth Majestrix. I blamed myself for a long time for his fall. I understand how you feel."

Alirath stared at him. "Gods in a circle! Damn, but that's a hell of a thing. I'm sorry, old friend. What happened to him?"

"Kyra destroyed him three months ago, just before he would have finished me off." The Jedi answered. "After his death, I realized something. He used my teachings to harm, but so he would have used anyone who taught him. That was his nature. Nothing I could have done would have made a difference. In the end he chose the Dark Side. But it was his own decision, not something I forced upon him. It's the same with your traitor."

Alirath nodded. "You're right. But it's easier to say it than do it. I'm probably going to lose sleep over this one for a long time." He shook his head. "Poor Vicki. That's my wife. I'm always grouchy when I'm frustrated, and now she'll have that to deal with on top of everything else. Good thing she's more patient than I am." The warrior shrugged. "You might want to go out on some patrols. I'd go with you, only my duties as second keep me too tied down to lead a flight squadron, unfortunately for me. And I don't dare leave Ilaren without someone to watch her back. Ah, the good old days. When all I had to worry about were hunting down slavers and knocking the pride out of some arrogant young pup's hide."

Qui-Gon hid a smile. He would inform the Commander that she had nothing further to worry about as far as Alirath was concerned. The veteran officer was the same as he had always been, a true and loyal friend, honest and blunt to a fault.

**Well how did you all like that? Please let me know, the review button is lonely!**


	8. Chapter 8

Kyra at last found a clearing in the middle of a dense patch of forest that looked suitable to land their ships without fear of being discovered for some time. She guided the Phantom down to a textbook landing on one side of the grassy verge, leaving enough for Draco's X-wing beside her. Popping open the hatch, she, Wraith and Taryn descended the ramp and stood on Fenwort 7 for the first time in their lives. This forest was not the same as the great stretches of woods near Hawk Haven on Salishar, she observed uneasily. No this was choked with vines and low lying scrub, cyprus and other swamp-loving trees grew here. Tendrils of mist curled up from the trees like smoke and over all hung the fetid reek of the marshes. Further away in the brush, something slithered deeper out of sight.

"This place looks nasty," Taryn said, glancing about like a startled deer. His hand was fastened in a death grip on his blaster.

"It's certainly unfriendly, but we have more to worry about with the criminal element here than the local wildlife. The creatures here are probably scared of us. Don't bother them and they won't bother you."

Taryn snorted. "As if I'd want to. Where's Captain Draco?"

Kyra lifted her gaze to the sky. "He'll be along in a few minutes. Remember, he's not cloaked, so he has to be careful to come in under their scanners. No one has more illegal scanning devices than a den of thieves and murderers."

Wraith soared from her shoulder into the sky. "I'll scout the perimeter, Chosen. Make certain no one saw anything from the ground."

"Okay."

The vorcel hawk dipped his wings slightly, then flew off on a thermal, disappearing from view.

A small dot appeared in the sky, growing larger as they watched, until it resolved itself into the shape of an X-Wing fighter. With a roar of displaced air and afterburners, the plane settled to the ground. The cockpit hatch on the one-man ship popped open, and Captain Will Draco climbed out, jumping the last few feet to the ground.

He was a tall young man with close-cropped dark hair and lively gray eyes dressed in camoflage combat fatigues without any rank or name stitched on the pocket. At his side were a blaster and a vibroblade and something that looked like a proton grenade to Taryn's eyes. He gave the boy a friendly grin and said, "Hi, kid. Ready to go hunt up some snakes?" He held out a hand, which Taryn took.

"You bet, Captain."

"That's the spirit, Taryn." Draco chuckled. Then he turned to Kyra, catching the slender Windwalker in a hug that lifted her from her feet. "Welcome back, Kyra! Gods, but I missed you. Things haven't been the same at home without you."

Kyra laughed and returned her former commander's embrace. "You mean you haven't found someone else to get into trouble with, Scimitar. I missed you too." More than even I realized, until now, she thought in surprise.

"Who me?" Draco flashed her his best innocent look. "Now, Lieutenant, you ought to know me better than that. I never get into trouble . . .until after breakfast, that is." He added with a wink. "Seriously, Kyranon, we've had a hard time trying to replace you. Not too many of the young officers can match your leadership skills."

"You'll find someone, Will." The Windwalker said. "Once we clean out this nest of vipers, that is."

The Starhawk raised and eyebrow. "Time will tell."

Wraith glided down to rest on Kyra's shoulder, saying, "No one's spotted us that I can tell, Kyranon."

Draco whistled. "I see you've bonded a vorcel hawk. Like mother, like daughter." He bowed to the great white predator. "Greetings, Master of the Skies."

"And you as well, Captain." Wraith inclined his head.

Introductions over, the Windwalker said, "I think I can give us some extra protection as far as the ships go. I can use my powers to create a wind warning, that's like an alarm system using the breeze here that will scream if an intruder comes near the ships. I can also draw down a fog to cover the X-Wing."

"That ought to work." Draco said in approval. "How long will it take you to do that?"

"Not long. Stand back a bit, you two." Kyranon ordered, gesturing at the X-Wing and the cloaked reconnaissance fighter. Almost instantly a thick fog rolled in from the trees shrouding the ship until it was invisible. Next she summoned the wind, whispering to it, asking it to help her guard the two ships, infusing the element with a token awareness of Taryn's, Will's, and her own life forces, enough so it would recognize them when they returned. To all others, you may scream at them with the strength of a thousand banshees, she told it silently.

The wind ruffled her hair playfully. As you command, Mistress. Then it curled about the clearing, lending the air a sudden chill.

Kyra turned to her companions. "The wind warning and fog is in place. Now we can get started." She glanced expectantly at Captain Draco. "You're the exec, Will. Take us in."

The Starhawk captain assumed the point position, Kyra behind him, Taryn following and Wraith flying silently in the rear. "You still receiving a signal from that tracking beacon of yours?"

"I am." She patted the small pocket receiver attached to her belt. "It leads off northwest just through those trees. I tried to land as close as I could to it without being seen."

"How will we get into the buildings where the Alliance is?" Taryn asked. "They don't just let visitors walk through the door."

"That's where I come in." Kyra said. "I can listen on the wind, hear what they say, what kinds of passwords they use. Enough so I can get us past the checkpoints." She paused. "It should fool them, except for one thing."

"What's that?" Draco asked.

"We don't look scruffy enough. Mess up your hair, Will, smear some dirt on your face and your clothes. Alliance recruits don't put too much time into being neat." The Windwalker said, undoing her braid and making her hair hang down, half-covering her face. She swiped some dirt on her face. Draco did likewise.

"Guess that'll have to do." The captain said, dusting his hands off on his fatigues. "It won't fool anyone with really sharp eyes but it should be enough to get us past the first checkpoints." He reached over and ruffled Taryn's hair making it stand on end. "Don't want you to look too neat either, boy. Especially since you're going to be our prisoner."

"I'm what?" Taryn cried, starting to back away from the captain, his mind screaming in panic he's sold out to the other side! He's the traitor!

In the next instant Draco was laughing. "Not for real, you idiot. As a cover to get you inside. Nobody will think to question two guards with a slave boy."

"Oh. I get it." The boy said, flushing in embarrassment. "But shouldn't I be tied up or something?"

"We'll do that later, when we get close enough to the door." The Starhawk said. "I've got a pair of cuffs in my kit you can use. I won't lock 'em, I promise." He shook his head, amused. "Gods, kid, but you should have seen your face. You looked like I'd just turned around and shot you in the back."

"Can you blame him?" Kyra said. "After what's been going on at Hawk Haven, it's hard to know who you can trust."

"I know. I hope the Commander catches the traitor before anymore of our people die. But you can trust me. I'd never betray the Starhawks." He met Kyra's gaze without flinching. "Truth Read me if you want. I have nothing to hide. I'd protect you both with my life if I have to."

Kyra looked deep into the gray eyes. There was no deception there. He was what he seemed to be, a dedicated honorable officer, one of the best Starhawks she had ever known. No shadow hovered round his soul. Only a steady white glow. "I know you would, Will Draco. No son of Alirath's would ever dishonor his sword and his Name like that."

"No more than you would, Kyranon Jinn." Will said solemnly. "Well, now that's settled, let's move. Time's flying."

They made their way through the clinging vines and underbrush, getting sticky sap on their clothes which added even more to their portrayal of the dregs of society.

"I hope there aren't any snakes in here," Taryn said uneasily. "I really hate snakes." He kept his eyes on the ground, watching every movement in the brush.

"Of course there are, kid. Huge ones that can swallow you in about two bites." Will called back cheerfully. "This is Fenwort 7, after all."

"There are?" Taryn sounded as if he were about to scream.

"Scimitar! Stop it!" Kyra scolded, biting back a grin. "You want to scare him to death?"

"He needs to be scared a bit, Boreal. Fear is what keeps you alive." Draco said, not at all repentant. "The biggest, nastiest serpents you ever want to meet live here." He continued. "The kind that walk on two legs and carry blasters, I mean. They're more dangerous than any real snake. Trust me on that."

Taryn gulped and nodded. But he still kept his eyes peeled for any sign of snakes. The real ones made his skin crawl worse than the members of the Alliance, evil as they were.

It took the little band of Starhawks about fifteen minutes of walking to reach the outskirts of the Alliance headquarters, following the steady beep of Kyra's tracking beacon. By then they were all hot and sweaty, scratched and bitten by mosquitoes. Taryn was beginning to wish he'd stayed on Coruscant. Somehow he'd never figured on feeling miserable going on quests like this. In his mind, you went out defeated the bad guys and then came home. Neat and easy. Reality was not so accommodating.

The Blood Serpent headquarters were a group of square buildings that looked as if a child had placed a number of blocks haphazardly in a circle. Rust and dirt smeared the white paint, though the gun turrets and entryways seemed well maintained, as did the hanger where the ships and cruisers were parked. Men and a few alien creatures wandered back and forth across the packed mud of the compound, all armed to the teeth with plasma rifles and blasters, knives and proton grenades. All of them were shifty eyed and lean, with the look of those who lived life on the edge, hard-bitten and cruel.

They made Kyra's neck bristle. The aura of shadow was strong here and the spirit of Windwalker Dahl whispered in her ear. Protect the Hawk. The Shadow will seek to destroy it. She tightened her hand over the hilt of her sword.

The uneasiness she had felt before was no longer nameless. Now it lived, it breathed, it called itself the Blood Serpent Alliance. And it would pay for daring to harm her friends and allies.

Draco halted just behind a scrub brush. He dropped to a crouch. "Lieutenant, do what you have to," he ordered, falling back to addressing the girl the way he had on so many missions. Taryn crouched beside him, his face pale and drawn, one hand trembling slightly. The Starhawk placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's okay if you're scared." He whispered. "But don't let fear make you freeze."

"I won't." Taryn hissed back.

"You've got guts, kid, I'll give you that much." Draco said.

Kyra allowed a part of her mind to soar free, riding the wind that swirled lazily about the heads of the guards on sentry duty before the steel gate leading into the compound. Their voices, low and harsh, came to her effortlessly, as if she were right next to them.

"Gonna be another scorcher today." One muttered.

"Yup. Damn, I hate this standing around. Friggen heat, friggen bugs." There came a sound of a slap, then the voice continued. "Least they could do is put me somewhere where there's some action. Instead damn Coville, the sly sonuvabitch, posts me in this sinkhole."

"I told you Goven, not to piss him off. You should of listened. Now you'll pay for it."

"Aw, shut your trap, Tibbs. Who the hell you think you are, a flaming high and mighty Starhawk? That's what Coville thinks he is, the prissy fop. They kicked him out of their fancy Academy cause he wouldn't follow orders, and now he thinks he can tell everybody what to do, like he was some kind of god or something!"

"I'd not say that too loud, you dumbass. He's libel to hear you and then you'll end up with your throat slit. Coville might be a slitch, but he's no slouch with a blade. He kill you quick as blinking."

"I'd almost welcome it. Instead of roasting my ass off standing out here. Who's going to challenge us anyway? And now we have some dumb passwords to memorize. Waste of bloody time, if you ask me."

"They change them again?"

"Yeah. Today's is the dragon wakes at midnight. And you reply, beneath the crescent moon. Don't ask me who the hell came up with it. Sounds like flipping poetry, like all those aristos write to their high-and-mighty ladies. Makes me want to puke. No real man would spout such garbage."

"Aw, quit complaining and do as you're told. You whine like a girl, Goven."

Kyra withdrew before she could hear the sentry's reply to that statement.

She blinked rapidly, then said, "I got the passwords. And some information. One of the sentries liked to complain about his CO. Seems the Snakes have recruited a former cadet of ours, a washout."

"Could that be who is passing information back and forth?" Draco wondered. A moment later he shook his head. "No, it can't be. If he were a washout, he would never have access to those codes. Well, we'll deal with him when we get inside." He reached inside a pocket of his fatigues, withdrawing a pair of silvery wrist cuffs.

"C'mere, Taryn." He ordered softly. "This'll only take a minute. Kyra, tell that bird of yours to keep watch."

"Already done, Captain." Came Wraith's silvery voice above them. The vorcel hawk was a mere dot in the sky.

Draco slipped the restraints over Taryn's wrists, closing them just enough so it would appear to the casual observer that they were locked. He clipped a short length of chain to the ring in the middle of the cuffs. "Okay. Now here's the way you're going to play it. You have to act like you're my prisoner, kid. Pretend you're scared as hell and you hate my guts. Look down at the ground, but give me a glare every once in awhile when you think I'm not looking. Sniffle a bit, like you're crying. Can you do that?"

"I think so, sir." Taryn said, standing up and shuffling forward, his eyes on the ground.

"That's good." Draco said. Then he cuffed the boy on the ear, hard enough to sting.

"Ow!" Taryn yelped. "Hey, what was that for?" he cried, blinking back tears.

"Give you something to think about besides being scared. And to make you cry a bit." The Starhawk said. Taryn glared at him. "Perfect. Tears and all. You ready, Lieutenant?"

"Anytime, sir." She said, flashing him a grin. She drew out her blaster, holding it in her hand.

Captain Draco stood up, the chain held in one hand. Then he walked out of the brush, dragging Taryn behind him, who was rubbing his ear and muttering sullenly under his breath.

"Move along there, boy!" Draco barked, jerking on the chain, making Taryn jump. "You think I have all blasted day? Come on, you skinny wretch, before I give you something to really cry about."

The Starhawk's tone was so menacing that Taryn found himself shrinking back in fear and he had to remind himself that Draco wouldn't really hurt him, that it was all an act.

Kyra brought up the rear, a look of cold scorn on her face. "Draco, the password is the dragon wakes at midnight. You answer: beneath the crescent moon."

Draco gave a barely perceptible nod, continuing his approach to the gate. "Lazy, good-for-nothing slave." He was muttering.

"Stop and identify yourself!" the sentry who was complaining ordered, lifting his plasma rifle to his shoulder.

Draco halted just short of the gate, an insolent grin spreading over his face. "Name's Borrs. This here's my slave," he shook the chain. "The other's my partner, Teer Nandra. I'm here to give the boy to somebody named Coville. Wants a slave to pick up after him. Bought him cheap. You know him?"

"Hell, yeah!" the sentry spat. "Who doesn't round here? Now he's got a slave to do his dirty work. Figures." He peered at Taryn. "Boy looks kind of scrawny to me."

"He's a bit thin, but he's stronger than he looks. Lazy, though. Need to give him a cuff every now and again. But that's Coville's problem."

The sentry nodded. "The dragon wakes at midnight."

"Beneath the crescent moon." Draco answered calmly. "Can I go ahead now? Coville might start to get impatient if I'm not on time."

The sentry shrugged. "Sure." He unlocked the gate, swinging it open just enough to admit Draco, Taryn, and Kyra.

Draco continued walking past them, Taryn shuffling after him. The Starhawk turned around and winked at the boy. They walked right to the main building in the complex and entered it. It was filled with people rushing to and fro, all busy with their own affairs.

No one paid any attention to them. Glancing around, Draco headed down a small corridor, dimly lit by flourescent lights in the ceiling. As soon as they were out of sight around a corner, the captain knelt and removed the restraints from Taryn's wrists. "You were good back there, kid. Just like a pro."

Taryn's eyes shone at the compliment. "Thanks, sir."

"You okay? I didn't hit you too hard, did I?"

Taryn shook his head. "No. I'm fine." Then he said, "What do we do now?"

"Now we watch and we wait." Kyra answered. "It's too bad we don't know what this Coville person looks like." She sighed. "From what the sentry said, though, he seems like the type who demands people salute him, like a typical arrogant prick. So we should keep an eye out for that. If he was a former cadet, he might even wear something similar to our uniforms."

"That would make sense." Draco agreed. "The most important thing to remember is to act like we belong here. And to listen to anything that's said about the Starhawks. These guys seem to talk pretty freely around here, so it shouldn't be too hard."

"You've done this before, haven't you?" Kyra said.

"Once or twice. So let me do most of the talking. And if something goes wrong, don't hesitate to kill. Either of you."

"If I can get to one of their computers, I might be able to find the information you're looking for." Taryn offered. "I'm real good with computer programs. I can make all their systems short out with a virus if I have enough time."

"Kid, you do that and I'll sponsor you myself for an officer's candidate." Draco told him. "But first we have to blend in, so to speak. Figure out who's in charge and where everything is. Once we do that, I'll set you free to wreak havoc."

"Until then you lie low and don't draw attention to yourself." Kyra added pointedly. "Keep by one or the other of us if you can, we'll say you're our slave, since that's the way kids here are treated and it's the only way you'd be allowed in here anyway."

"How come I have to play servant?"

"Comes with the territory, I'm afraid. Don't worry, we won't make you do anything really hard. Just scrub a few floors and make our beds and wash the dishes." She laughed at the boy's horrified expression. "Only teasing."

Taryn glared at her.

* * * * * *

For the next two days the trio haunted the Alliance base, trying to learn what they could about the organization and what they knew about the Starhawks. Draco was able to get the soldiers to talk more freely to him than Kyra, mostly because the Snakes were a mainly male organization, the few women who joined it were either desperate or crazy and none of them were even remotely attractive, full of tatoos and body piercings.

The Windwalker did her best to downplay her looks, but the men of the Alliance were the scum of the galaxy, and they would have considered her attractive if she had two heads and painted herself blue. As a result, Kyra avoided the main hall where the men gathered as much as possible, having already been forced to break one groping man's wrist and knock another senseless before they finally got the message that she wasn't available. Both of those fights had taken place when Draco wasn't around, for which Kyra thanked the gods. Will Draco had been taught to respect women and he loathed men who considered women property, good only for sex and having babies. If the Starhawk had seen the way those two had spoken to her, there would have been blood spilled. Which would have drawn unnecessary attention to him and her.

Kyra alone, however, defending herself, only drew amused chuckles from those who had witnessed her battle. And the men left her alone after that. Wraith remained a solid presence in her mind, since he could not enter the compound without being noticed. The hawk kept her informed on the comings and goings of the Alliance, marking how many ships were in the hanger and at what times they left and how many there were. He was never seen, for a vorcel hawk could make himself practically invisible when he wished in the open air. Like the ghost he was named for, Wraith hovered about the compound, watching and waiting.

Thus far, even with Kyra's talents, the trio had learned nothing useful about how the Alliance got their information about the Starhawks, or who was passing it back and forth. Kyra did learn that Coville, the former cadet, was attempting to bring more order and structure to the Alliance, trying to implement some of the Starhawk's procedures. So far he wasn't meeting with much success, for which Kyra also thanked the gods. The Alliance was enough of a pain as it was, the last thing it needed was to use Starhawk tactics against them. She hoped the men continued to frustrate the former Starhawk candidate.

Meanwhile, she and Taryn had explored the compound, slipping around the edges of things, using all of Kyra's skill with the Force and the winds to remain undetected. They learned that the main computer databases were on the second floor of the main building, but guarded day and night by security systems and hard faced troops who dressed in black with a red snake on their tunics. A direct assault on the second floor would be foolhardy, and alert the entire complex to their presence, and while Kyra was certain her powers could deal with forty or fifty angry Snakes, she knew even she was no match for two hundred or so. Not to mention the fact that she had Taryn to protect. But after the information had been gathered, she could unleash her power on the base.

That was one of the good things about being able to use both sides of the Force. The Jedi, who used the Light side of the Force, could only use their powers for knowledge and defense, not attack. The Sith were the opposite. Only the Windwalkers were capable of using the Force for attack and defense, to heal and kill. It was because of the bond they shared with their vorcel hawks. The hawks brought balance to their souls, providing a sort of conscience, making certain their bondmates did not slip too far to one side or the other. When a Windwalker used her Force talents to kill, she walked a fine line. And the killing aspect must be balanced by an act of good or sacrifice. Thus was the balance of light and dark maintained.

After this, Kyra knew, she would be spending many days in downtown Coruscant healing and tending to the poorer people of the metropolis for free, as balance for the lives she took here. But she did not mind. It was always easier for her to heal than kill, for though she was a warrior she hated killing and did so only when there was no other choice.

"We're going to have to pray for a diversion or something," she told Taryn, who was beginning to look a bit drawn as the pressure of the mission was beginning to tell on him. She nearly felt sorry for him, but then she recalled that he had chosen to involve himself in something that was none of his business.

"Yeah, we'd never get through all the checkpoints they have, much less the guards." The boy said. "Though once we're in there I can promise you I'll erase everything they have stored there."

"You just saying that to sound important, or can you really do it?"

"I was in the advanced computer programming class at my school. The one they usually teach the adults." Taryn told her proudly. "I can hack into just about any system. And I know how to plant a virus that'll erase any amount of data in about twelve seconds tops. One thing I do know is computer systems and electronics. And how to race swoops."

"And shoot like an ace pilot." Kyra reminded, ruffling his hair. "You aren't just a troublemaker, Taryn Jinn. Not by half. You have a lot of talent in you."

Her cousin fairly glowed at the praise. "Thanks, Kyra. You know, you and Captain Draco are the only people who have ever told me that I'm something besides a no-good brat who would never amount to anything. My parents never really noticed whether I did anything good or not, so it was easy for me to stop caring. And every other adult I ever knew hasn't done much except yell at me and tell me what to do."

"Maybe that's because you haven't given them a chance to see you as anything more than spoiled brat."

Taryn thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. "I guess you're right. I guess it's partly my fault. I have been getting into a lot of trouble ever since my mom and dad were killed. Funny, I used to get in trouble because I was bored, but lately it's been because I was angry."

"At your parents for dying?"

"Partly. But mostly because people expected me to be someone I'm not, and it made me mad. I know that's not a good excuse for doing what I did, especially not to your father. I can't change the past, but maybe I can start over."

"I think that's a good idea. Much better than some of the others you came up with. I think you should tell my father what you told me. It might help you patch things up with him."

"He's going to be madder than hell when we get back." Taryn predicted gloomily. "I'll be lucky if I see the sun outside my window, he'll probably lock me in my room until I'm fifteen."

"Can you blame him?"

"No. I just hope he gives me a chance to explain myself."

"He will. He always does." Kyra said. Well, I'll be fried. Looks like the little brat is finally growing up. Hope it lasts. "I'll talk to Scimitar. Maybe he can arrange a diversion, something to get everyone's attention down here while we try and sneak into the second floor."

"It's worth a shot."

* * * * * **

But Draco, clever as he was, wasn't able to come up with anything over the next two days. Which left Taryn at loose ends and itching to try something that would bring an end to this endless waiting. He fought that impulse harder than he had ever fought anything in his life. He didn't want to do anything to betray Kyra's and Draco's trust in him or anything to damage the mission. Unfortunately, while he was fighting his inner battle, the Snake soldiers decided to take advantage of the fact that they had a slave boy near to hand and began ordering him to fetch and carry for them.

The first time a soldier had issued an order to him to fetch his drink, Taryn balked, rebellion surging up in him. Until Kyra motioned frantically for him to do as he had been told, and he realized that in another minute he would have given himself away. So he did as the scruffy soldier had ordered. With gritted teeth, but he did it.

After that, he found he was called on to clean up after the soldiers had left, sweeping the floor and clearing the tables. Pride warred with common sense the first time he was given such an order, but Draco's quick swat on the back of the head and his hissed, "Remember what and where you are, kid!" made him choose common sense over pride. Not that it was easy. He hated every minute of it, and heartily wished them all blown off the face of the galaxy.

But the forced labor made him realize suddenly how much he had taken for granted. As the son of a governor, he had always been surrounded by servants, both droids and humans. It had never occurred to him to question whether or not they liked what they did, they were simply there to be used like he would use a brush or a comb. Now he wondered if he had ever treated his own servants as badly as the Snakes treated him, screaming at him, calling him stupid and lazy and dumb, as if he couldn't understand what they said. Pushing and kicking him and giving him the occasional swat when he didn't move fast enough to suit them. Though he learned how to dodge pretty quickly, and Draco sometimes managed to deflect a soldier's anger from him by telling the man that he would punish Taryn himself. Draco occasionally would cuff him, but the blows were for show, they never hurt, though Taryn wondered how the hell he managed to make it look like so real.

And I only have to pretend to be a slave. What must it be like for those kids who really are slaves? How do they stand it? I'd go mad if I had to live like this forever. No freedom, no right to tell your master to go to hell and fetch his own damn beer. No one to care whether you lived or died. No one should ever have to live like that. It's wrong.

He had always known slavery was wrong, but he had never realized what a truly evil practice it was until now. And he resolved with all the determination of his young spirit that he would try and abolish this terrible shadow from the galaxy, if possible. He did not know how he would do this, but he knew he must try.

Then came the chance they had been waiting for.

Coville, one of the higher ranking officers in the Alliance, decide to throw a huge banquet and invited everyone in the complex to attend it for at least an hour or more. There were plenty of grumbling and muttering about the order, but Taryn had realized that no one dared to cross Coville, not even the biggest and meanest Snake grunt. One and all, the men feared him more than even death. He had a reputation as dark as a Sith's cloak.

So the hall was being prepared and all personnel on the base were to attend. It was the perfect opportunity to slip in and sabotage the computers. If he could slip out of the hall without being noticed. The only problem was, with this banquet he had been required to work longer hours, and not even Draco could interfere too much without someone wondering why the welfare of one slave child was so important to a Snake soldier.

During one of the few breaks he had, Taryn managed to signal Draco to meet him in the men's restroom. "What's up, kid?" the Starhawk said.

"I need to get away from the hall when the banquet begins, so Kyra and I can sneak up to the second floor and .look through the database for that information we need. Then I can sabotage the system. This is the best chance we'll have, sir. Only I can't do it if I'm waiting tables and serving drinks to half the idiots here."

"Don't worry, Taryn. You'll have your chance." He bent down and whispered in the boy's ear, "When Coville enters the hall, that's when the banquet will begin. You need to leave before then, but after most of the people have arrived. I'll let you know the right time. Then, when I signal you, be ready to do something clumsy, like spill a drink on someone or a bowl of soup. Make a mess. But do it near me, so I can have an excuse to punish you. I'll scream at you for a bit and give you a slap or two, then I'll send you away to await my wrath. Make sure you act terrified, I want everyone watching to think I'm going to strangle you as soon as the dinner's over. Then as soon as you're out the door, meet Kyra and run like hell up to the second floor. I'll keep watch down below, head off anyone who tries to leave early as best as I can. The rest is up to you."

"I won't let you down, sir." Taryn promised.

Draco clapped him on the shoulder. "I know you won't, kid. You haven't yet. Now scat. Don't want you to give them any excuse to get suspicious."

Taryn flashed him a saucy grin before he was out the door. He could hardly contain his excitement. At last, some action!

* * * * * *

The hall that night was filled to bursting, and Taryn had a hard time keeping track of Draco with the press of people. But at last he managed to locate the Starhawk officer, sitting in a corner near the wall, next to a rather loud fat man in an ugly mustard colored shirt and breeches. The fat man was gesturing wildly as he spoke, globs of spit running down his face into his beard. Taryn hovered near them, waiting anxiously for Draco's signal. The captain had looked over once at Taryn then ignored him, though the boy knew he had been seen.

More guests filed in, until Taryn wondered how in the world anyone else was going to find a seat in the overcrowded hall. Just then, Draco straightened and growled, "Where the hell is my ale?" He glanced around the room. Then his eyes alighted on Taryn. He slammed his fist on the table. "You there! Boy! Stir your lazy bones and fetch me an ale! Hurry up!"

Taryn nodded and ran to do as he had been told. Draco's fist had been the signal he'd been waiting for. Hiding a smile of elation, the dark-haired boy slipped through the crowd like an eel. He snatched an ale from a tray near the kitchen, then made his way back to Draco's table.

"Finally! Thought you were going to take all night. Give it here!" Draco snarled. "Now." He mouthed silently.

Taryn deliberately tripped, lost his grip on the ale, and spilled the pale drink right into the fat bearded man's lap.

"Clumsy oaf!" the fat man roared. "You ruined my best tunic, you stupid piece of trash!" he made as if to hit the boy, but Draco intercepted him in a move so smooth it was nearly impossible to follow.

"I'll deal with the brat. He's my property. Sorry about that." Draco apologized. Then he turned on Taryn with a terrible glare, making the boy shrink back, cowering almost to the floor. "You lazy, good for nothing idiot! How many times do I have to tell you to watch what you're doing? Damn jackass, I don't know why I put up with you." He reached down and hauled the boy up by his tunic front, giving him a slap as he did so. "When will you learn? Will this teach you?" He made it seem as if he hit the boy again, cuffing him on the shoulder. "You worthless imbecile! I'm sick of the sight of you. Go, get your butt back to my quarters and stay there to await my wrath! This time you're going to learn what it means to obey, boy."

The threat in his tone made Taryn shiver, he didn't need to feign that part. He fell to the ground, half-sobbing, hiding his face in his hands. Then he stretched them out in a pleading gesture. "Master, no! Please! Don't make me go. I'll be good, I promise!" he begged, trembling in abject terror.

Draco aimed a kick at him. "Go! If you make me drag you there, I'll make you regret it to your dying day."

Taryn scrambled away, amid shouts and sneers and catcalls. He was on his feet and running out the door as if pursued by demons. Only after he had shut the door behind him did he pause for breath. His heart was hammering so loudly he was surprised no one else heard it and came to investigate.

"Taryn!" Kyra hissed from a side passage.

Quickly he gathered his wits and raced toward her.

"Come on. We haven't got much time."

Together Windwalker and boy raced up the stairs leading to the second level of the complex. The hallway was deserted, as they had hoped. Mindful that they only had an hour at most, Kyra and Taryn made their way down the hallway to the section marked, Authorized Personnel Only. Kyra hit the door with her hand. It was locked.

"Damn! I was afraid of this." The Windwalker swore. "We don't have time to be subtle. Stand back."

Taryn backed away. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle in warning. Then he saw a strange silver haze surround his cousin.. Suddenly a howling gale blew through the corridor, slamming into the door with the force of a thousand proton grenades.

The door was blown back off its hinges.

The wind died to a hush. "Sorry, guess I got a bit too angry there." Kyra said quietly.

"Remind me to never get you mad at me," Taryn quipped then he walked past her into the next corridor. A droid whistled in alarm at the sight of him. "You are not authorized! Go back! You are not authorized! Go back!"

The round machine rolled toward him shrieking the same message over and over.

"Just shut up already!" Taryn yelled, and pulled out his blaster and shot the droid. It gave a soft croak, then toppled over, smoking.

"Any more of them?" Kyra asked, coming up to stand next to him.

"I don't know."

"Wait. Let me use the wind and see." She ordered just as he was about to continue down the hallway. She closed her eyes and whispered, "Lend me your eyes." A moment later she opened them. They glowed a faint silver, then it vanished. "There are no more droids, but there are two guards up ahead at the next checkpoint. I guess they were told to stay behind. Let me deal with them."

"Be my guest." Taryn said, and walked behind her.

The two guards glanced up in shock as Kyra appeared. "Hey, who the hell are you? You're not supposed to be here." One cried, starting to reach for his gun.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I think I'm lost." The Windwalker said, looking confused.

"I'll say you are, sweetheart." The second one leered. "How's about I tell you the way to my bed?"

"No thanks." Kyra said softly. Then she moved, springing into the air and catching both guards with a foot under the chin. It was so quick that Taryn hardly registered she had completed the action until he saw the limp bodies of the guards lying in the corridor.

"Are they dead?"

"No. Just knocked out. Let's go." She turned the handle of the door and they went into a large room containing several chairs and a table. A large wall of glass on the left side showed the computers, blinking and glowing. But the way was barred by a glowing forcefield.

"Now what?" Taryn groaned.

"Can you disable it?" Kyra asked. She indicated a panel on the wall. "If I use the Force on it, it might set off an alarm."

"I'll try." He opened the panel, examining all the switches and buttons. Then he began flipping them. "Give me another minute." He hissed, pressing several in combination. "I think I've got it." He hit a blue switch.

The forcefield flickered and died.

Kyra flashed him a grin. "Okay, now let's get what we came for. Go ahead. I'll stand watch by the door. Just don't take too long."

Taryn slipped inside the room and sat down at a computer. His hands flew over the keyboard. In seconds he had cracked the password and gained access to the database. He typed in a query about the Starhawks. What he got back made his blood run cold.

The Blood Serpent Alliance was not merely content to pick off the Starhawks one at a time. They wanted to go after Hawk haven itself. They had planted a spy within the Starhawks' chain of command. For years the spy had been feeding information to the Alliance, until the Alliance decided it had enough and was going to strike. They had been building a massive fleet of destroyers, battle cruisers and fighters in a remote part of the galaxy.

Now they were going to spring it upon the unprepared Starhawks, and destroy their enemies once and for all. They had scheduled the invasion for two weeks from now.

Shaking, Taryn stuck a disk in the drive and downloaded all the information he had learned about the invasion fleet. The only thing that was not recorded in the database was the name of the traitor.

This base on Fenwort 7 was not the Alliance's main base but a reserve one. Which explained why no one had known about the Starhawks. Coville was nothing more than a reserve officer, which explained his temper and posturing.

The boy hit another key, bringing up another screen with names of all the prominent Alliance members. This too he placed on the disk.

"Taryn!" Kyra's voice echoed like a death knell in the still room. "Hurry! It's almost time for them to get back."

"I'm trying. But there's more information than I thought. And Kyra, they're planning an invasion fleet! Aimed right at Salishar. Hundreds and hundreds of ships."

Kyra felt her blood run cold. Gods above, my mother was right. "Did you get all that information?"

"Yes. And some on the Alliance members too and all the plans and locations of their bases." The boy reported.

"That's great. Now quit searching and get back here."

"One more minute. I need to download the virus." He reached into his pocket, withdrew a small black disk. He removed the information disk from the drive, inserted the virus disk. Then he hit the Send key.

Virus injected.

The screen flashed.

Then all the computers went out.

"I'm done! Let's get the hell out of here."

He shoved the disk inside his tunic and Kyra nd he headed for the stairs. They had barely made it past the two sleeping guards when alarms began to ring all over the place.

Taryn looked at Kyra. "I don't think the system liked the virus much."

"Damn. I guess it can't be helped. Come on!" She drew her vibroblade. "This place is going to be swarming with guards in about a minute. Stay behind me and shoot to kill."

They had reached the stairs and were about halfway down when the first of the black guards came racing up the stairs. They fired almost immediately. But the shots went wide, deflected by Kyra's hastily drawn shield.

Then the Windwalker was among them like the wind of death, her vibroblade spinning with deadly grace, slicing through the guards in a split second. They fell to the floor, dead before they could scream.

Taryn could only stare in shock. Then Kyra was shaking him. "Snap out of it! We don't have time for you to get hysterical. You can cry all you want later. For now, move!" She gave him a rough shove. Then she was springing down the stairs, her emerald blade glowing eerily, her eyes burning pits of fire, vengeance personified. Taryn followed in her wake, his hand holding his blaster.

He wasn't sure who he was more frightened of.

The Snakes or Kyra.

"Kyra!" he shouted, running to keep up with her. "What about Draco?"

"He can look after himself. Don't worry. He knows what he's doing."

Twice more guards came for them, and twice more they died upon the Windwalker's emerald blade. Kyra attacked relentlessly, not giving her foes more than a second to register she was there before she cut them down. Most died before they even knew what hit them, their last sight an emerald light and blazing azure eyes.

Five guards came round the corner, plasma rifles blazing.

The shots scorched the walls and floor, but the wind shield Kyra threw up protected them. Then she stretched out a hand, pointing.

And a tornado spawned right in the corridor, howling and screaming, it caught the Serpents and threw them against the wall, spinning them about sucking the air and the life from them.

Then the Windwalker clapped her hands and dismissed her creation. The tornado vanished. Their path was clear once more. They continued down the stairs.

Meanwhile, in the hall among all the drunken and feasting Blood Serpents, Captain Draco was thinking frantically about how he could keep the majority of the guards and such inside the hall so Kyra and Taryn could have time to get the information they needed. Several of the higher echelon of guards and techs were getting bored and looking for excuses to leave, especially since Coville had not put in an appearance. The lower ranking soldiers were perfectly content to get drunk and stuff their faces.

Just then the door of the hall opened and all heads turned to see who was entering. Four hulking guards marched in, a red serpent coiled on the right shoulder of their tunics, marking them as Coville's personal guards. Then the man himself entered. Draco peered between two skinny techs who were too busy discussing programming to even notice that their leader had arrived. Coville was a man of medium height, young, around Draco's age, with short reddish hair and piercing dark eyes. He wore a toned down version of A Starhawk dress uniform, blue jacket over blue pants tucked into black boots. The blue jacket sported three stripes on the sleeve and two bars on the shoulder. Where once the silver hawk emblem had been sewn, now coiled a red cobra. On a Starhawk, the three stripes would have indicated a Captain's rank, Draco thought. He had no idea what ranks there were in the Alliance, nor did he care.

Draco stared for a moment more at the haughty Coville, beofre he realized with a start that he recognized the man. Gods in a circle! That's Bruce Coville, we were in the same class at the Academy together. But he never finished. Couldn't handle the pressure or the discipline, was always trying to lord it over the other cadets. He even got into an argument with one of the drill instructors, challenged Sergeant Thayer to a duel. Got his ass kicked good, if I'm remembering correctly. After that he left. No one was sorry to see him go.

Oh, yes, he remembered the haughty cadet Coville now. Coville had been violently jealous of anyone holding higher rank and nasty as hell to anyone he saw as beneath him. He and Draco had fought on more than one occasion, for Coville had insisted that as Major Alirath's son, Will was given preferential treatment. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Starhawk drill instructors showed no favoritism. Not to anyone, son or daughter of an officer or not. Draco had never expected any, would have been insulted if they had tried to give him special treatment, saying he couldn't cut it without help.

Now Coville was a different story. He wanted special consideration, considered it his due as a matter of fact. And when he didn't get what he thought he deserved, he tried to make the younger cadets give it to him, bowing and scraping to him as if he were some kind of feudal overlord, Will recalled with a sneer of disgust. No true Starhawk behaved like that to men under his command. An officer led by example, treated his men with respect, and in turn inspired the same.

It appeared Coville still had not learned that lesson.

Now he was mounting the dais where the higher ranking Snakes were seated. Coville, of course, had the seat of honor, a high backed chair in the center of the table, exactly like some king in a fairytale. His hulking guards posted themselves behind his chair, glowering fiercely.

Coville sat down, saying, "I have gathered you all together to tell you that our finest hour is at hand. The accursed Starhawks, who think it is their destiny to guard the weak and oppressed, have become vulnerable. For years they have humiliated us, arrested our members, confiscated our cargoes, killed our leaders and in general ruined the reputation of the Blood Serpent Alliance as the most feared criminal organization in ten star systems. All in the name of their so-called freedom and justice! Well, I say it's time we taught those noble fools a lesson. For the only justice in the galaxy is that of the strong. The weak bow before us, or are crushed. Freedom is for those who can take it, all else are slaves."

Draco was amazed at the other's rhetoric. He sounded like nothing more than a petty despot, a crazed megalomaniac. But the crowd ate it up.

Coville continued in that mode for several more minutes, then wound up with, "Now is the time to strike back at those who oppose us! No more skulking in the shadows, hiding from the Starhawk patrols or dumping our contraband into the depths of space. So eat, drink, and be merry, my comrades. For tomorrow we attack—"

Just then a huge thump rocked the building, shaking it to its foundations.

People began to look about, startled and frightened.

"What the blasted hell was that?" Coville roared.

Draco had a feeling he knew all too well.

Kyra and Taryn had done something, perhaps blown up the computer center or something.

Coville was already ordering guards to go and see what the hell was going on. Several rushed out the door. In another minute the entire damn complex would be on alert, hunting down the two. And Draco was unsure just how much pursuit they could handle, especially when one of them was just a boy, not trained in combat.

It was time for a little diversion, the Starhawk Captain though. And a chance to settle an old score.

He sprang up on the table, ignoring the shouts and curses of the people about him. "Hey, Coville! You put on a pretty good show. Hope they pay you for it."

Coville turned beet red. "What? Who said that?"

"I did." Scimitar called, waving. "Remember me, Bruce? Looks like you haven't changed much since we went to the Academy. You're still the same conceited, crazy little prick you always were. Guess you figured since you couldn't cut it as a real man, you go and join the first scumbags to come down the pike." Draco laughed mockingly. "Pathetic! But then, you always were a little weasel."

For one moment Coville was rendered speechless. Then he shrieked, "Draco! How dare you come here and insult my honor! I was always ten times the man you were. I was always the better officer. But the instructors were too stupid to see it. While you got everything handed to you on a silver platter. Precious Will Draco, the Major's son!"

"That really sticks in your craw, doesn't it, Coville?" Draco said, grinning. "That I made it and you didn't. You used to tell everyone you were going to be the next Titan Starbuck, the hero of the galaxy. And if not that you'd be Commander of the Starhawks. Got a bit carried away there, didn't you, you fool? Cause look where you are now. In the back end of beyond, in a swamp, lecturing to idiots who don't understand half of what you're saying. Some command you've got, Coville!"

"Shut up! Just shut your damn mouth!" Coville howled, turning purple. "No one is allowed to speak to me like that!"

"Oh, so sorry, did I offend your precious majesty?" Draco gave him a mock bow. "Truth stings like hell doesn't it, Bruce? Why don't you go and whine about it to your big brother? Tell him to come down here and beat up the big, bad, bully that just insulted you, you cringing coward?" People were beginning to snicker behind their hands at this point, for they had never seen their arrogant leader made a fool of. "Or are you going to challenge me like a man?"

Coville launched himself across the table, screaming, "I'll tear you to pieces with my bare hands, Draco!"

Draco ignited his vibroblade. Then he tossed a proton grenade toward the dais. "Here, catch! That's a present from the Commander, she sends her compliments."

Then he was vaulting off the table, elbowing his way through the crowd. The grenade exploded. Bits of concrete and plasti-steel rained down on the panicked people. A gaping hole was blown in the wall, and blood was smeared in a red swath across the table.

Behind him, Coville was screaming, "Get him! Get the Starhawk!"

Guess it's time for me to make my exit. "Nice party, Coville. Sorry I can't stay for the finale." He called over his shoulder, then he began to make his way toward the door. Several of the guards moved to block the exit, blasters blazing.

In minutes, the whole room was in chaos, as people scattered, pushing and shoving, trying to avoid blaster bolts and being trampled. Draco used his free hand to knock aside the terrified people, not quite willing to slay unarmed men. He reached the door, and attacked, his vibroblade a streak of azure lightning.

The guards fought, but none of them had been the recipient of Alirath's combat class. Draco ducked the first one's punch, kicked the second in the throat, and spun about to catch the third with a well-timed thrust through the heart. The first one brought up his gun but before he could pull the trigger, the Starhawk had chopped his hand off.

"Now, now. Never point a weapon, son, unless you know how to use it." Draco scolded, then kicked the screaming man in the head, knocking him out.

But by now more blaster fire was being aimed his way, as some more of the Snakes had rallied and were now concentrating their attacks. Draco ducked, the lasers missing his head by inches. He threw his shoulder against the door.

It didn't budge.

Locked.

Draco cursed fluently.

"Kyra!" he yelled into his communicator. "Now would be a good time to get your ass in here!"

He ducked another shot, moving behind a table that had been overturned. Over the milling crowd of people, he could see the yellow glow of a vibroblade. Coville was still trying to get to him. Scowling, the Starhawk lobbed a grenade at the Serpents who were shooting at him.

It took some of them out, but not enough. And he was running out of grenades.

* * * * * *

An explosion rocked the landing, throwing Taryn and Kyra to their knees.

"Holy hells!" the boy cried. "Who did that?"

"Draco." Kyra answered. "Come on, kid. He's going to need our help."

"But I thought you said he could take care of himself."

"I lied." She pulled him to his feet. "Stay behind me. This is going to get rough."

She used the wind and soared above the floor, taking out the last remaining guards with one quick burst of lightning. Then she landed on the ground and ran toward the banquet hall. She pointed her finger at the door and summoned an arctic gale. The door froze, rimed with blue and white sheets of ice. Then it shattered.

"Well, that's one way to make an entrance." Taryn remarked in awe.

People poured into the hallway, some running, some screaming, some shooting at anything that moved. Kyra tightened her shields about them, feeling the Force flow through her with renewed strength.

She sent another freezing blast of wind howling through the corridor, clearing a path so she could get inside the hall. "Draco!"

She spotted him suddenly, crouched behind a table, his vibroblade blazing, returning the fire of at least six guards.

"About time!" he yelled. "Thought I was going to have to send out a search party."

She threw a shield about him as well. "Sorry. I got delayed."

Then she turned and slammed the five Snakes with a sandstorm. Miniscule particles of sand scoured the flesh of the guards, reducing them to strips in seconds. Draco came out from behind the table, his vibroblade taking off the arm of a guard who had tried to sneak up behind the Windwalker with a knife.

"Thanks." Kyra nodded. "Come on. Time to blow this joint."

"Draco!" came a familiar cry.

"Just a minute. I've got to squash an insect." Draco said, moving forward to intercept Coville.

Azure and yellow blades met with a sharp crackle, as the two began a deadly duel across the remains of the hall. Kyra drew her own blade, fighting with the few Serpents who remained, keeping them off Draco's back.

Draco slashed low at Coville's midsection. Coville parried, his blade hissing. He was fast, but not as fast as Draco. The red haired man thrust at the Strahawk's shoulder, but Draco read his intent, blocking with a barely perceptible flick of his wrist.

Then he sprang, using his blade in a lethal combination called the Wildcat's Fury.

Coville stumbled back, his blade held defensively before him, trying to counter the form with the Silken Veil, a defensive maneuver that allowed the attacker's blade to slide away, giving him some maneuvering room.

But Draco was no novice swordsman. He slipped his blade around and under Coville's faltering guard, thrusting the azure blade home in the other's throat. "Give my regards to the demons, Coville. You were a lousy officer." Draco growled, withdrawing the azure blade from Coville's lifeless corpse.

He spun about to aid Kyra, who was fending off two opponents at once.

"Captain! Get down!" Taryn screamed.

Draco heard the whine of a blaster bolt and threw himself to the side. The bolt clipped his arm, leaving a red burn along his skin. Before he could draw his own gun, there was the sound of an another shot from the opposite direction.

The Snake crumpled to the ground, Taryn's shot taking him right between the eyes.

Draco rolled to his feet. "You all right?" Taryn demanded, coming up to him.

"Flash burn. Nothing to worry about." Draco reassured him. He aimed his own gun at the second of Kyra's opponents, taking him out with one shot to the chest.

The Windwalker finished off the other one, then soared toward them, the wind swirling about her. "Wraith!" she sent. "Get back to the ship. We're getting out of here!"

"On my way, Windwalker!"

"Let's go, Draco." Kyra ordered. "I don't think they want us here any more."

"Now what ever gave you that idea?" the Starhawk asked and began to run toward the exit.

They emerged into the center of the compound, alarms deafening them. They ran for the gate, dodging random blaster bolts from the soldiers at the gate. One turned to the other and said, "What the hell's going on?"

"I think we're under attack." Answered the other.

"Brilliant deduction there, genius." Draco said, landing before them in a crouch, his vibroblade curving forward in a lethal slash.

Kyra killed the other with one thrust. Then she shoved Taryn out the gate. "Get down!" she ordered them. "It should go off any second now."

"What should?" Taryn queried.

"The explosives I planted in the reception room." Kyra answered.

At that moment a huge ball of fire erupted from the center of the building. The shock wave rolled over them, spraying them with tiny bits and pieces of debris. "That'll teach them to attack the Starhawks." The Windwalker said softly.

"What about their ships?" Taryn reminded. "Shouldn't we destroy them too, so they can't come after us?"

"Good idea." Kyra said. "A hurricane force wind should do the trick." Once again her form was outlined in silver mist. Then a howling storm was born, rushing over the hanger where the Alliance ships were stored in a devastating wave of fury and sound. Metal shredded like paper under the wind's onslaught, crumpling and folding beneath the force of seventy-five mile an hour gusts. The roof was blown off and sent sailing several hundred feet through the air. In minutes the entire hangar and all of the ships were in a shambles, as if a giant hand had come down and smashed them into so much scrap metal.

Then the wind died, leaving an eerie silence in its wake.

Draco stared at Kyra. "Gods in a circle! When you said you were more powerful than the Jedi, you weren't kidding."

Kyra merely nodded, a smile ghosting across her face. Using the Force for destruction always weakened her more than usual. But she forced herself to move. Her muscles felt like lead, heavy and unwieldy as blocks of wood. "We'd better get back to the ships. This mission is done."

Draco clipped his vibroblade on his belt. "Well done, both of you."

Then he turned and headed back the way they had come. As they were making their way back through the swampy brush, the captain said, "Still afraid of snakes, kid?"

"Not any more. There're are worse things to be afraid of." Taryn answered. "Like the invasion fleet the Serpents are sending against Salishar."

"What!" Draco stopped dead. "What invasion fleet?"

"The one they were planning to send. Only I erased all of the flight schedules and instructions from the computer database. By the time they program it all back into the memory banks, it'll be over a month. Plenty of time for the Starhawks to go and blow them up."

"Kid, we owe you one." Draco grinned, ruffling the boy's dark hair. "And to think, I told Kyra to send you home where you belonged."

"Think I'll make a good Starhawk, sir?"

"First class officer, Taryn Jinn. You honor your House." Draco said, giving him a salute. "But you still have to be fourteen before you can enroll in the Academy."

"Even after this?" the boy protested.

"Yes. One mission doesn't make a master warrior, Taryn." Draco told him calmly. "But it's a start. Now we'd better head back to Hawk Haven. The Commander needs that information right away." He climbed into his fighter. "See you at Hawk Haven."

Wraith landed on Kyra's shoulder. "About time, you two! Did you get the information we needed?"

"Taryn did." Kyra told the hawk. "We couldn't have done it without him."

Wraith nodded in approval. "It would seem there is more to you than meets the eye, young one. As with all your family."

Taryn grinned. Then the two boarded the Phantom.


	9. Chapter 9

Back at Hawk Haven, the search for the traitor was not going well. Qui-Gon had questioned each of the suspects and so far his Truth Reading had not showed any aberrations. Of course, he had not been able to come right out and ask if the officer he was speaking to was a traitor. He had to skirt the edges of the truth, acting as if he were unaware there was a traitor in their midst. His lack of progress was frustrating in the extreme, though he told himself he had not expected to solve this puzzle so easily. The Force offered no miracles, only alternative methods.

Adie Gallia and Master Danae had reported several suspects, malcontented officers who had been passed over for promotions and were bitter about it, but so far nothing concrete. Even Obi-Wan said the talk among the young cadets was all about how they wished they would hurry up and graduate so they could go out and stomp the Alliance. The worst criticism he had heard was that the Commander wasn't sending them out on enough patrols and they were getting impatient.

This traitor is more clever than we thought, Qui-Gon sighed as he made his way past the command control center on his way back to his rooms. Ilaren had invited him to dinner tonight, something unusual for the Commander usually dined with her men or alone. The Jedi Master wondered if her own investigation was going well. Perhaps she had some new leads.

He wondered too how Kyra and Taryn were doing. He hoped they had not run into anything they couldn't handle, for neither had returned yet from the mission Ilaren had sent them. What will be, will be. He quoted silently, trying to find peace in the Jedi concept of destiny. But this time he could not find his peace. Worry and doubt dogged his footsteps like hunting hounds and he could not shake the uneasy feeling from his bones.

I'm jumping at shadows. It's just nerves. Worrying about Kyra and Taryn, the Starhawks, Ilaren. No wonder I can't focus. Shaking his head in irritation, Qui-Gon settled down on the couch. There was something he ought to remember, something he had heard when he was talking to Sean Androvak, but whatever it was eluded him. Something about that last conversation they had two days ago hadn't rung quite right. But he had been unable to determine what it was that bothered him.

Perhaps an hour or two of meditation would clear his mind, help him put his finger on what he found disturbing. It was nothing concrete, nothing that the Truth Spell would have picked up on. Still he could not afford to overlook anything.

When in doubt trust your instincts. And the Force. He closed his eyes, sinking into that cool place deep within, where the Force surrounded him with its brilliant light. Somewhere were the answers he sought. He still his breathing becoming one with the room, the air, the life force that pulsed in a glorious green rush through this planet. Salishar was strong in the Force. It was why the vorcel hawks made their home here. It was where the first Windwalker had been born. It called him, singing an ageless song of peace and tranquility, soothing his restless spirit. It was even more pure here than on Coruscant, where so many Force-users had tapped into the energy that they had altered it slightly. Here the Force was wild, primal energy, untamed.

He immersed himself in its flow, letting the current carry him where it willed. Oh, but he had forgotten what Salishar was like, forgotten how wild the Force was here, unlike any other place in the galaxy. He felt as if he had come home.

And the Blood Serpent Alliance would seek to destroy this world, reduce it to ashes and dust.

Anger rippled through him at the thought, disturbing the web of life. He banished it. Anger had no place here. He must be calm, controlled. He must remember what he had forgotten. Sean Androvak. What had they been discussing two days ago?

Then he remembered.

They had been discussing Ilaren, of all people. Androvak had been telling the Jedi how he had been her friend since the Academy. And how there had been two rival factions among the cadets at the time. There had been a great debate over whether the traditions of honor and obligation were outdated, and should be replaced by something more modern. Such as the way the Starhawks chose their Commander. Traditionally, it was an inherited position. The First Daughter or Son of the current Commander inherited the position from his or her parent. Unless the Commander had no offspring, in which case the flag officers chose a new Commander from among them. Ilaren's family, House Aranell, had been Commanders for the past three decades. Some of the younger families thought that was too long, and clamored for a new family to take precedence.

Out with the old and in with the new! were the slogans the liberalist faction chanted, despite the fact that the Aranells had always been superb Commanders, guiding the Starhawks with wisdom and courage and uncanny foresight. So the cadets had been divided, with Ilaren's traditionalists in the minority.

Androvak had been unsure whether to go one way or the other. "I mean, I knew Ilaren would make a decent Commander, hell she was the top of her class in almost everything. But sometimes being the best isn't always necessary. If a Commander is too perfect, you can't trust her to understand those who aren't. Besides, more of the cadets wanted to elect a different family. Sometimes loyalty has to give precedence to progress. It's how the world works. But Ilaren couldn't see that. She was too stubborn. I told her she was fighting a losing battle. That her little group of traditionalists would eventually be overwhelmed. That if you couldn't beat them you should join them. She never understood that concept. As it turned out, more of the flag officers were traditionalist than not, so Ilaren was elected Commander when her father retired. But it was a close thing."

Now he recalled several statements of Androvak's that had struck several uneasy chords in him.

_Sometimes loyalty has to give precedence to progress. It's how the world works._

_If you can't beat them, join them._

Was he speaking of how he felt long ago, or was there some hidden meaning behind those statements?

He never said how he felt after Ilaren became Commander. Was he upset that the minority had won over the majority? And what family had been chosen to take the place of the Aranells? Who had lost the chance to become Commander all those years ago?

Qui-Gon sat up, coming out of his trance with a start.

The alarm clock he had set two hours ago was ringing. He had set it to remind him that he had to go to dinner in half-an-hour.

He rose to his feet. He had just enough time for a quick shower and to dress in his more formal set of Jedi robes. He had no idea why he'd packed them, Starhawks rarely gave formal dinners. But there they were, and this might not be a formal dinner, probably wasn't, still it would be a shame not to wear them and Ilaren had never seen them before.

And you're starting to act like a lovesick adolescent on his first date. He scolded himself. You'd think you were still twenty-one, the way you're mooning over clothes. This isn't a marriage proposal, you know, just a casual dinner. 

He would wear the clothes anyway.

And he would ask Ilaren the name of the family who had challenged her for her position. He was almost certain it had something to do with the current situation. Rivalries like that seldom died down so quietly. Usually they smoldered for years, awaiting their chance to explode into a conflagration. And whoever was sabotaging the Starhawks bore a hell of a grudge.

* * * * * *

"Qui-Gon, those robes look magnificent on you." Ilaren said when he appeared in the doorway of her apartments. They lent an air of prestige and power to the lean Master, which was not always as apparent to the casual observer, for Qui-Gon was so self-contained. The golden brown robes with the blue trim brought out the highlights in his hair and accented the deep blue of his eyes. Strangely, the cut of his clothes emphasized his muscular shoulders and torso, typical of a warrior who has spent most of his time in combat.

"Thank you, my dear." He bowed to her. "You also look absolutely stunning."

It was true. The Commander had forgone her usually military attire in favor for a long green dress, elegant, with long sleeves and tiny crystals about the hem and neck. The dress accented Ilaren's slim waist and hips, flowing to her feet in a gentle swath. Sparkling silver shoes were upon her feet and her hair was curled gently about her face. There was none of the warrior about her tonight, Qui-Gon observed. Tonight she was all woman.

"You going to stand there all night, or are you going to come in and sit down?" Ilaren laughed, her green eyes dancing. "You're acting as if this is the first time you ever saw me in a dress."

Qui-Gon smiled, coming to sit down next to her on the low sofa. "No, I remember that time perfectly well. Do you?"

Ilaren nodded. "Our engagement party. You looked as though your eyes were going to fall out of your head."

"So did you." The Jedi teased. "You blushed like a teenager."

"I did not!"

"Oh, yes you did. I remember it because I thought it made you even more lovely than you already were."

The Commander shook her head. "Qui-Gon, stop it! I'm not that pretty, there are hundreds more women out there who possess more beauty than I do."

"Not for me. You were the only women that ever caught my eyes."

"And you were the only man who ever saw past the warrior to the woman." Ilaren said softly. "I tried to keep you at a distance, but it was impossible. Then and now." She reached for him, and they kissed with a passion that burned hotter than the stars overhead.

When at last they came back to themselves, Ilaren said, "I knew it was a mistake for me to invite you here tonight. But I've been so tense. I needed to unwind. And I missed you. More than I ever thought possible. When you left . . .you took a part of me with you. And now that you've returned, I am complete again."

He stroked her hair. "I never forgot you . . .and believe me I tried. But you were part of me, the way the Force is a part of me. I could no more forget you than I could forget my name. Less, even. When I walked away that day, I left you my heart."

"And I hold it still." She whispered. "And always will. We cannot change the past, beloved. But perhaps we can begin again. If you want to?"

His hand tightened on her shoulder, drawing her close. "I do."

Her green eyes sparkled as she kissed him again. "And so we fulfill our destiny. Together, as all the gods intended."

"Yes." He gave her a wry grin, his blue eyes glinting with humor. "I'm luckier than I deserve. For not every man can claim the heart of a Starhawk Commander."

"True. Only you." She slipped from his arms with a rustle of green silk. "We should continue this discussion later. Our dinner's getting cold."

"We can always reheat it," he said, catching her wrist in a playful grip.

"But aren't you hungry? I made your favorite, lobster and fillet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes," she began.

"It sounds wonderful. Later. Right now there is only one thing I want, Ilaren Aranell. And it's not food."

"Where is your discipline, Jedi Master?" she asked, shaking a finger at him.

"Thrown to the four winds. For tonight, that is. Tonight I am no longer a Jedi Master. Only Qui-Gon."

"And I am only Ilaren." She allowed him to draw her back to the couch, surrendering to the white-hot flame of passion and love. Her legendary control fled, scattered like dust in the wind. For only with him did she dare reveal her soul. And so did he. It seemed that sixteen years had not dimmed the love they had felt for each other. If anything, the attraction between them was stronger than ever.

And this time nothing would separate them.

· * * * * * *

Sometime later, as they ate their lobster and steak, which Qui-Gon assured her tasted even better now than it would have then, the Jedi asked her about the situation that Androvak had told him of.

Ilaren raised an eyebrow. "How strange that he would bring up that again, after so many years. He never used to discuss that with anyone."

"Why not?"

"Didn't he tell you? His father was the candidate the liberals had in mind to replace me. If they had managed to sway the vote, his father would have been the new Commander. And as the eldest son, he would have been the successor." Ilaren shrugged. "But it never happened. Though for awhile there, I thought his father's losing had put an end to our friendship. Even though he assured me he didn't hold any hard feelings, I knew it must have hurt him badly. But he got over it, eventually."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Well, we never discussed it, but he was still my friend. He never became politically opposed to me or anything. It irritated the hell out of his family, he had some major arguments with his father over it. Up until the time the old man died, I think."

"When was that?"

"Seven or eight years ago." She frowned at him, her green eyes puzzled. "Why are you so interested in Androvak's family history?"

"Because I think it may have something to do with him being the traitor." Qui-Gon answered.

"But you Truth Read him, didn't you?"

"Yes, but I could only determine that what he said was true, not if he was hiding his true nature." Qui-Gon explained. "There has to be a motive behind this person. His resentment over you being given command could be a reason why he betrayed you."

"We have no proof though." Ilaren pointed out. "And if he did resent me, why on earth would he still be my friend, especially when his family was so opposed to it? Hell, he and his father damn near came to blows because Sean refused to stop seeing me."

"Wait. Was he ever romantically involved with you?"

"We went out. Once. It was no big deal. After that we decided we were better off as friends. Why? Do you think he might be jealous or something? You've been gone for sixteen years, so I don't know why he'd be mad at you."

"And he never tried to, uh, go out with you again?"

"No. I told you, we were friends. That was all. I was never in love with him." Ilaren stated emphatically.

Ah, but was he with you? Qui-Gon wondered. Resentment and love. A potent combination. Add in revenge and I think you have a recipe for disaster.

"I can't say what his motives were back then. But maybe he thought it was safer to go along with you, pretend to be your friend. Playing up to the one with the power."

"What about now? I'm still in power, and there's no one threatening me." Ilaren said. "If what you say is true, why would he betray me?"

"Because with Kyra a Windwalker, the succession is now open." Qui-Gon stated. "And he wants to have what he thinks is still owed him."

"But how does betraying the Starhawks to the Alliance get him that? All he has to do is nominate himself as a candidate when I retire."

"You're not thinking straight. Working that way, there's still a chance he might lose. And he doesn't want to risk that again. So he makes a deal with the Alliance. He promises to give them you and anyone else who might oppose him. In return they make him Commander of what's left. It all works out, for both of them. Nice and neat."

All the blood drained from her face. "Dearest gods! I see it now. It makes sense, now that I think about it." Her eyes flashed in fury. "All those years, and he's been playing me for a fool. Saying one thing and doing another. But how can I prove it? I can't read his mind any more than you can. And he must have help. Assuming that your theory is right, that is. We could be wrong, you know."

"True. But something tells me I'm not. I can't explain it. But he makes me . . . uneasy. Maybe I'm trying to make more out of this than it seems. But this is the only thing I could come up with. I don't know. Talk to Alirath. See what he thinks. I know you can trust him. And watch your back."

"I will." She promised him. "It's just so hard to believe . . .someone I've known my whole life, who saved my life even . . .how could he betray me, the Starhawks, like that?"

The raw pain in her voice cut him deeper than a sword thrust. "Some people don't know the meaning of honor. All they understand is power." He placed a hand on her shoulder. And the bastard better start praying to whatever gods he worships, because if I find him before she does, there won't be enough of him left to pick up with a particle retriever! The depth of his anger astounded him, for he did not bear a personal grudge against the man. No, his anger was because Ilaren was hurt, she aroused protective instincts in him that were second to none. He struggled to master his emotions, for he knew such anger would only make him careless. Uncontrolled anger will lead to the Dark Side, he reminded himself sharply. Now get hold of yourself!

He did so, but it was more of an effort now than it had ever been.

I can't bear to see her in pain. I love her too damn much.

He cupped her face in his hand. "Will you be all right?"

"You offering to chase away my nightmares, Qui-Gon?"

"If you need me to."

She gave him a wistful smile. "I'll be fine. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself. But I appreciate the offer, my love."

He knew a dismissal when he heard one. "Very well. But . . .if you need me, Ilaren, you know where to find me."

She kissed him, a warrior's kiss, full of steel and promises, promises she meant to keep this time. Then she bid him good night. She wished him pleasant dreams, though she knew she would not have a very restful sleep herself. She watched him leave, and considered calling him back. Perhaps . . .Then she shook her head irritably, angry at herself. She would not use him that way, like a crutch to prop up her fading emotional strength. She was Commander, she had spent plenty of nights alone wrestling with dilemmas. One more night wouldn't kill her.

* * * * * *

Over the next few days, Ilaren kept a sharp eye on Sean Androvak. Androvak for his part, did nothing even remotely out of the ordinary tending to his duties as he always did. The tall blond haired man seemed the same as he always did, cheerful and unruffled, not bothered by the current unrest. But that was Androvak's way, he rarely let anything ruffle his composure. The closest she had ever seen to a bad mood with him had been years ago, over that controversy at the Academy. Then, and when his father had forbid him to be friends with Ilaren some two years after they had graduated. She had not told Qui-Gon, but she had witnessed that fight, as she had been going out with him at the time.

It had been one of the few times she had ever seen Androvak lose his temper. It had also been one of the few times she had allowed a man to defend her honor. Not that she hadn't been willing to defend herself to that pompous old jackass, but Sean had gotten the jump on her. Just as well. She would have done more than scream at him, she would have left bruises. Which would have been all she needed to add to her reputation as a hotheaded young officer.

Funny, but she hadn't thought about those events in a long time. After she had stopped going out with Sean, there had been no time for casual relationships, she had been too busy running the Starhawks. Until she had met Qui-Gon. And the rest, as they said, was history.

Could Qui-Gon be right? Could Sean still be harboring resentment over lost chances, did he hate her for being Commander? Could he even be jealous of what she had shared with Qui-Gon? She had made no secret of her love for the Jedi, they had been married with full Salisharan ceremony, with all the ceremony and pomp of a state wedding. Androvak had never indicated to her or to anyone else that he still loved her as anything more than a friend. He had been polite and friendly to Qui-Gon, the same way he was to anyone. There had been no awkwardness, no stiffness in his manner, as there would have been if he still had a romantic attraction to her.

She sighed, running fingers through her short honey-colored locks. Speculation was getting her nowhere. She needed proof, not half-baked suppositions. Time was running out, she could feel it in her bones. The traitor would have to act, and soon. Before he was unmasked. The question was, where would he strike next? And how?

Tension coiled in the pit of her stomach, making it impossible for her to remain in her office any longer. She shoved the paperwork she had been doing aside and left the room. It was late, most of her staff was off duty, only a few sentries were posted at the outer office. She waved at them as she went past, they saluted and went back to their guard posts.

She prowled the hallways, seeking an outlet for her frustrations. Perhaps she should head down to the gym for a workout. Maybe that would relieve some of her tension. She felt like a boiler on the verge of exploding.

Her boots tapped rhythmically on the floor as she passed the control command center, where the Starhawks received and sent messages. There was a light on in one of the back rooms, she noted in some surprise. Normally, the center was deserted at this hour. Perhaps someone was working late. Shrugging, Ilaren made as if to walk past the door and continue on her way to the gym.

Some sixth sense urged her to enter the control center instead.

After a moment's hesitation, she did so. Turning the handle of the door, she went in. Soft footed as a cat, she crossed the room to the open door, where a Starhawk officer sat at the switchboard, speaking into a headset. It was Sean Androvak.

Ilaren froze. Then she backed very carefully off to one side, out of view. Leaning against the wall, she listened to what he was saying.

" . . . .I told you, the fleet is due to arrive some two weeks from now. That's the only time I can assure you less patrols will be out. It's the time of the Harvest Festival, and most of the officers will be celebrating not watching for enemies. It's the perfect time to attack. All you have to do is come in on these coordinates . . ."

He typed something into the computer. Ilaren was white with fury. But she forced herself to wait until he had finished his conversation.

"The Commander? Don't worry about her. I'll make sure she's out of the way. It shouldn't be too hard. After all, she still thinks I'm her devoted friend." He snorted. "These honorable types, they never know how to look past their noses. Pity I have to kill her, though. She has a hot little body. What's that? Did I ever . . .no, she chose that damn Jedi freak over me . . .her mistake . . .if she'd been my wife, I might not have to do this. . . I understand, Caligula . . .I'll do what I have to. Haven't I always?"

Whatever the Snake on the other end said, it made the former Starhawk chuckle. "All right . . .I'd better be going, before someone sees this light on. Got to be careful, those Jedi freaks are crawling all over the place. Chimera out." He shut down the console, placing the headset on the counter.

Then he turned to leave.

And came face to face with a blazing green-eyed fury.

"You double-crossing son-of-a-slitch!" she spat.

"Ilaren! What the devil—" he began, trying to play innocent.

"It won't work, Sean. I know what you are. I heard every word you said to that Snake. You betrayed your oath. Betrayed it willingly, in blood. Bastard! And to think, I trusted you. You were my friend, damn it! Or was that a lie too?"

He backed up. "No, it wasn't. Not then. But then you betrayed me. You chose that Jedi freak over me, a Starhawk, one of your own people. Together you and I could have ruled the world."

"You're crazy! A damned maniac. I'm glad your father's dead, Androvak. At least he won't have to see the way you've just dishonored your name and your House."

Androvak laughed wildly. "Oh, that's funny, Ilaren! You never knew, did you, that my father was the one who first arranged a meeting with the Alliance, all those years ago. He was the first informer. After he died, I simply continued the tradition."

"In the name of the gods, why?"

"How can you ask me that? After what you did?" he screamed, his hands clenching. "You stupid bitch! My father was ten times the command material you were. He should have been given the position, not you! But all the damn traditionalists were too afraid of your family to back him. It was easier to just keep things the way they always were. But they were wrong! My father should have been Commander! He was meant to rule. And so was I!"

"Qui-Gon was right. You were corrupted by power."

"Yeah, he's a clever bastard, your Jedi. He figured out in a few days what it took you twenty or so years to learn. But then, you've never been good at deception, Ilaren. You or Alirath. He's another one. Honest as sunlight. And dense as a post when it comes to reading other people."

"Shut your filthy mouth, Captain! He's a better man than you could ever hope to be." Ilaren cried. "And to think, I saved your life in the Battle of Veril Strait. I should have let the Carpathians have you. It'd have been more than you deserved. How could you bear to look us all in the eye every day, doing what you were doing?"

"It was easy. All I had to do was imagine the way it would be like once I was in power, the way I should have been from the beginning. The Alliance was only a means to an end. They offered me the best deal. If not them, it would have been someone else. And I don't believe in all that honor bullshit. My father used to say honor was for idiots and weaklings. He beat that lesson into me by the time I was eleven. He was right. Look what honor got you, Ilaren Aranell. Screwed over by your best friend!"

"Not any more, traitor. I'm through being played for a fool. How many more of you are there anyway?"

"Quite a lot, actually. I was surprised myself by how many officers besides me could be tempted into abandoning their sword oath and their honor for money." He began to name about twenty names, some she had suspected, others she never would have guessed. The corruption spread all the way down to the cadets. And it had been going on for years, if what he said was true.

"Now that I've spilled my guts to you, dear lady, now I think it's time to say farewell." He grinned and pulled out a blaster. "A final farewell, if you understand what I mean."

Then he fired.

Ilaren threw herself to the ground., feeling the bolt flash inches from her face. She was on her feet in an instant, chasing after the fleeing Androvak. She caught him just inside the door, slamming into him with all her strength, knocking him to the ground.

He scissored his legs as he fell, kicking her in the jaw. Dazed, she blinked, swung at him, but she missed. That was all the opening he needed. His second shot took her in the knee. Then he was up and running.

Snarling like a cornered animal, Ilaren staggered to her feet, ignoring the white-hot agony in her knee. She retrieved the throwing knife from her boot and threw, a perfect underhand cast. It caught him in the back.

"Damn you!" he howled, and turned and fired again.

She managed to throw herself to one side, taking the bolt in the shoulder instead of the head. Then she found her vibroblade and ignited it. "Fight me, you bloody coward!"

"Sorry. I prefer to keep my skin." He kicked the vibroblade from her hand. Then he turned and raced down the hallway.

Ilaren followed, limping, feeling the blood slowly drip from her shoulder and knee. She was hurt bad, she could feel herself start to go into shock. But she could not bear to let him get away. Furious, she found her communicator. "Lieutenant Stevens! This is the Commander! Traitor is making a break for it! Stop Captain Androvak at all costs. Repeat, stop Androvak by whatever means necessary. Am I clear?"

"Yes, ma'am. Orders understood. Whatever means necessary."

Ilaren sagged against the wall, pain racing through her in a red wave. The communicator fell from her nerveless fingers. Qui-Gon . . .help me! Hear me . . .please.

Qui-Gon Jinn came awake, all his senses screaming at him of danger. He lunged out of the bed, his lightsaber flying into his hand. One hand hit the light switch, flooding the room with brilliant light. But there was no one in sight. The room was empty of all save him.

Yet still his Force-sensitive nerves tingled. Danger!

Not to himself, he realized a second later. To someone he cared for.

From far away he heard a voice calling his name. Frowning, he concentrated.

But it was faint . . .so faint . . .

Qui-Gon . . .hear me . . please . . .

Then he knew who had called him.

"Ilaren!" he cried. "Hang on. I'm coming." He threw his robe on, shoved his boots on his feet and charged out the door. Using the Force, he located the flickering life force of the Commander and followed it to where she lay, half against the wall, blood stained her uniform in a crimson swath.

"Ilaren!" he shouted, terrified she was dead. He took her in his arms, felt for a pulse. There. It was thready and weak, but it was there. Breathing a sigh of relief, he placed his hands over her heart and used the Force to stop the bleeding. It was all he could do, he had never been able to use the Force to heal the way some Jedi could. Tearing a piece of his robe into strips, he bound up her knee and shoulder.

"Ilaren my love . . .don't die . . .I'm here . . .don't die . . ." he murmured over and over.

Her eyelids fluttered. "You came . . ."

"I will always come for you." He said, cradling her to him. "Hush. I need to find a doctor."

"Androvak . . .betrayed us." She hissed. "You were right . . ." She gripped his hand. "Got to capture . . .don't let him get away . . ."

"First we get you to a healer. Then I can hunt down the bloody coward." The Jedi Master told her, beginning to run through the corridors.

**So, how did you like this one? Did you suspect Sean? **

**Review, I'd like to hear your opinion.**


	10. Chapter 10

Kyra had just stepped off the Phantom onto the familiar tarmac landing strip of Hawk Haven when pain slammed into her, a red-hot wave of agony that made her gasp in pain.

"Kyra! What's the matter!" Wraith shrieked, his bondmate's pain resonating back to him.

The Windwalker could not answer for a moment, she was too overwhelmed by the sudden agony. At last she managed to say, "I don't know . . .all of a sudden it was like I was shot or something!" She felt instinctively for the strands of the Force that connected her to Qui-Gon. But he was not in pain. That left only . . . "Mother! Something's happened to her!"

Just then she heard the alarms begin to ring, signaling an intruder had entered Hawk Haven. "Damn! The traitor must have made his move." She called, using her power to fly into the air.

"Kyra! What's happening?" called Taryn from below her.

"Trouble. Just stay by the ship and don't move. That's an order."

"But . . ."

"Just do it!" she yelled. Then she and Wraith were gone, flying into the command center, following the slender dwindling thread that was Commander Ilaren's life force.

Qui-Gon had just reached the med-center and had laid Ilaren down on a diagnostic bed when Kyra burst into the room.

"Father! Is she . . ."

"She's very weak, lost a lot of blood." The Jedi Master began. "I don't know . . ."

Kyra reached out, took her mother's hand in her own. A life saved to balance those taken. Then she said, "Those alarms . . .they're for the traitor aren't they? Go after him. I'll heal Mother." She began to fall into the Force meditative trance. Will, visualization and empathy. Master Andrilas's instructions echoed in her head. Ilaren had wounds in her right shoulder and left knee. In order to heal them she must first visualize them the way they were before.

"Kyra, are you sure . . .?"

"She is already into her healing trance," Wraith informed him. "Come, Jedi Master. Let us hunt the serpent to the earth!"

The vorcel hawk sprang into the air, shrilling a battle cry. Qui-Gon followed him.

* * * * * *

Taryn scowled at the Windwalker as she flew off, thinking, Why is it whenever something happens the first words out of everyone's mouth to me is Don't move and stay put? Do they think I'm some kind of helpless child? Does she forget what I helped her do back on Fenwort 7?

Muttering something about adults and their crazy ideas, the boy returned to the ship and removed his bike from the storage bay. He had just powered down the controls when a commotion at the front of the landing strip made him glance up.

A man dressed in a Starhawk uniform burst from the side door, running as if all the hounds of hell were after him. Hard on his heels were two more Starhawks and Qui-Gon Jinn. Wraith soared overhead.

"Stop! Filthy traitor!" one of the pursuing Starhawks yelled.

"Don't let him get to a ship!" shouted the other.

The traitor, a tall blond haired man with wild eyes, did not even try to get into a ship. Instead he made for the row of speeders and swoops on the left side of the hangar. He leaped on one of them, started the engine and kicked off just as the others arrived.

"Shit!" a Starhawk snarled, firing his gun at the man. "He's getting away!"

The man on the speeder accelerated, soaring up and away.

Wraith shrieked a challenge and followed, but even a vorcel hawk was no match for a speeder.

"Taryn!" Qui-Gon called, spotting the boy. "Give me the swoop."

The boy hesitated for a split second. Then he gunned the engines and pushed the throttle. "Don't worry, Uncle Qui-Gon! I'll get him for you," he cried.

"No! Damn it, boy, come back here!"

But Taryn was already pursuing the fleeing Starhawk captain.

Qui-Gon could do nothing but watch, his heart in his throat, as the red and black swoop chased the blue speeder across the sky.

Androvak glanced back once at his pursuers before he fled across the landing strip. He knew he should have gone for a small shuttle, but there had been no time and his speeder was the closest thing to hand. He hoped he had killed the bitch commander. His cover was blown, all his careful planning shot to hell. He was unable to comprehend how his brilliant plan had gone so wrong. He knew the leaders of the Alliance would not be pleased by this night's work.

But he would worry about that later. For now he had to get away from Hawk Haven. He cast a glance behind him, hearing the familiar roar of a swoop come to life. To his shock he saw not another Starhawk or the Jedi chasing him but . . .a kid with a blaster in one fist and a pair of red racing goggles.

Androvak laughed. What the hell is this? Some kind of joke? I could lose this kid in my sleep.

He banked sharply, cutting around the corner of the administration building. Here he had all the advantage, for he knew the territory better than the rider of the swoop.

Taryn increased his speed, trying to catch the blue speeder. Suddenly Wraith landed on his shoulder. "Turn now, youngling!" the hawk ordered, just as the blue speeder made a hairpin curve around the corner of the building.

If not for Wraith's warning, Taryn would have missed the turn and at the speed he was going, might have crashed right into the side of the building trying to alter his trajectory. But the boy guided the swoop deftly about the corner, avoiding the building by inches.

"Nice flying, boy!" Wraith shrieked encouragement in his head. "But can you catch him?"

"This is a racer." Taryn said, punching the throttle. "It can dust that bucket of bolts any day of the week. And so can I."

The red and black swoop responded like the well-bred machine she was, accelerating to nearly one-hundred and twenty klicks in about two point four seconds. Taryn yelled in delight, seeing the gap between him and the speeder rapidly disappearing.

The man on the speeder glanced back once, a wicked gleam in his eye. Then he fired his blaster.

"Down!" the hawk shrieked, just before the bolt came at them.

Taryn hit the steering shaft, making the bike dive. The blaster bolt sizzled by, missing them by inches.

"Flipping asshole!" the boy cried, pulling back on the stick, making the bike rise up into the air. In moments he was back on the speeder's tail.

The former Starhawk, upon seeing his pursuer was not giving up, set a course that he felt certain would teach the kid a thing or two about meddling in the affairs of his elders. Androvak took his speeder down low, using his knowledge of Hawk Haven to guide his way between the buildings and around the zigzag corners of the marketplace.

Taryn followed doggedly, the swoop navigating the tight spaces easily, his hands moving smoothly on the controls, steadying the bike around the turns without missing a beat.

Below on the ground, Qui-Gon watched the deadly race, his mouth dry with fear. Be careful, Taryn. He's tricky. But despite his fear for the boy's safety, he had to admit the youngster could fly. Like a daredevil ace. The Jedi gasped sharply as the boy took the swoop around a corner so sharp it was a miracle he didn't tap the corner of it. Then they were clear, accelerating straight up. Get him, Taryn! He thought one moment. And the next, Just wait till I get my hands on you, you crazy fool! As the boy squeezed the swoop through an opening the size of a needle's eye.

* * * * * * *

Kyranon Jinn worked frantically to keep her mother's fading life force in her body. She had visualized all the bones and muscles in their proper places, feeling the pain as if it were her own, empathizing with her patient. Now all that remained was for her to gather her will and use the Force to complete the healing.

But her connection to the Force was growing weak. She had spent much of her power back on Fenwort 7, destroying the Blood Serpent's base and fighting the soldiers. She had not expected to need her powers so soon, and the strain of focusing them in her current state of exhaustion was almost too much.

You have to do this! Or Mom will die! You're the only one who can.

She drew the Force to her, not the pulsing destructive side but the gentle life-giving side. But it was so hard to focus! The energy kept slipping through her fingers like water through a sieve. She could not seem to grasp it no matter how hard she tried.

Nearly sobbing with frustration, she forced herself to be calm. Of course she couldn't touch the Light side of the Force. It responded only when the one summoning it was calm, not full of desperation and fear. She deliberately slowed her breathing, entering the meditative state so crucial to a user of the Light side.

She blocked out all fear, all desperation. They did not exist. She was calm, at peace. There was only the Light. And her need to heal her mother. She opened her hands. And the Force flowed through them.

Green energy, the color of life, poured through her fingers and into the stricken body of Commander Ilaren. Kyra focused her will, visualizing the shattered knee whole and complete, down to the last tendon and muscle. The Force responded, mending the torn tissue, restoring the blood, driving out infection. She did the same for the shoulder, closing the gaping wound in mere moments. Lastly, she brought the Commander out of the shock she had entered, giving her enough energy to fall into a deep and healing sleep instead.

Her task complete, the Windwalker released her hold on the Force.

Then she slumped to the floor beside the sleeping Ilaren, all of her strength gone. Her mother was safe. Only then did she let exhaustion claim her.

* * * * * *

Taryn brought the swoop around on the leading edge, pushing the bike past the red line. He was almost on top of the blue speeder when Androvak aimed his blaster again, firing rapidly, forcing the boy to dive and roll sharply. "Look out!" Wraith screamed as they narrowly avoided a balcony, the wind from their passing causing the glass panes in the window to rattle sharply.

Taryn's eyes narrowed. "That's it, I've had all I can take of this stupid slick!" He drew his blaster and fired back, clipping the edge of Androvak's seat.

The speeder jumped wildly as the shot rocked it, and Androvak cursed furiously, sending the craft zooming up and around yet another pole. He led the stubborn boy around all the poles that were set up for the races the cadets held on the weekends, the course designed to test the skill, speed, and maneuverability of both racer and driver to the max.

Taryn grinned, the wind screaming in his ears and zigzagged about the white poles, turning and looping like a bolt of lightning. "Hey, Wraith!" he yelled as he brought the bike underneath a curving archway, just missing caching his head on the bottom of the structure. "Did you see that? I just did a slingshot into a one-eighty!"

"No, you just did something resembling a suicide run!" the hawk shrilled, digging into the back of Taryn's seat so hard he punctured the leather with his talons.

"Relax, hawk! I know what I'm doing. I'm a pro."

"You're crazy! Watch that next loop. Bring it up nice and easy. That's it. Now straighten out, before you stall. Good! You're a natural flier, boy. Pity you weren't born a hawk."

"Don't I wish!" the boy cried. The blue speeder zipped through another curving archway. "Hang on! This one's tricky."

His hands pulling back on the throttle ever so slightly, Taryn brought the swoop looping up and upside down, flying around the corkscrew curves of the archway. Using barely perceptible shifts on the handles, he guided the swoop around and under, upside down and forward, all at a speed that made his hair stand on end.

Qui-Gon, who was following the chase with his binoculars, buried his face in his hands, certain the reckless boy had gotten himself killed with that last maneuver.

They blasted out of the archway, Taryn howling in delight and Wraith screeching in alarm and pride. "Now that's what I call flying!"

"Save the congratulations for later, young one! He's still ahead of us by five lengths!" the hawk reminded him.

The Jedi Master felt his heart start to beat again as he caught sight of the red and black swoop, still intact and gaining on the speeder.

"Not for long! He's getting desperate, I can tell. Look how his speeder's trembling. He thought he'd lose me long before now."

Which was true. Androvak had been certain that last run would shake off the kid once and for all. The Devil's Snare was the toughest course in Hawk Haven. Even Androvak, who was counted an excellent pilot, had only done that run twice. This time was his second. For a novice kid to have come through that without a scratch was mind boggling. How the hell did he do it? Even with the hawk, it's damn near impossible to make that run cold.

But incredibly the kid had done it. He was one of the best instinctual pilots Androvak had ever seen. Either that or he had the gods own luck. Or both.

He gunned the speeder, trying to put some distance between them. It was like trying to lose a flea on a dog, he just clung to Androvak's tail. Worse still, the speeder was running out of fuel, as it was not made for these high-speed, long-distance sort of chases.

The swoop had no such problem, as it had been designed for just such a thing, and it burned three-quarters less the fuel the speeder did. Taryn skipped blaster bolts off the speeder's hull, guided by Wraith's prompting.

"Damn and blast!" the boy swore. "I missed again."

"Steady on the trigger, boy." Wraith trilled. "You're pulling back too quick. Aim before you fire."

"I'm trying!"

Now the blue speeder was diving toward the ground, trying to squeeze between two transports standing on the ground. He's really desperate now. Taryn thought. Then he had an idea. Instead of following the speeder, perhaps he could cut around in front of it.

With a smirk, the boy accelerated into the red line again, sending the swoop on a slanting downward spiral that would put them ahead of the speeder by several yards.

"What are you doing?" Wraith cried.

"You'll see!" Taryn yelled, pulling back hard on the throttle and bringing the swoop around on its side in a figure eight turn, ending the maneuver facing the blue speeder's nose, which was just beginning to emerge from between the transports.

"Now, Taryn!" the vorcel hawk shrieked. "Fire at will!"

The boy brought the blaster up, then he aimed and fired.

The bolt flew true, striking the speeder just below the control console, shorting out the guidance systems. Androvak was unable to control the bike, the steering was damaged by the blast. The speeder went into a spin, crashing into the ground where it bounced for a few yards then exploded into a ball of flame.

"A fitting death for one such as you!" Wraith shrieked, the hawk's cry of triumph. "Well done indeed, young one! You honor your House, Taryn Jinn."

Taryn lifted his fist into the air and gave a victory yell. Then he took the swoop up into the air once again, flying gently around the obstacle course and through the deserted marketplace until he had reached the hangar. He was greeted by the two Starhawks who had been originally chasing the criminal. "Your traitor's back there," Taryn told them, jerking a thumb back toward the flaming wreckage of the speeder. "I don't think there's much left of him."

"Thanks, kid. We owe you one." One of them called, hopping into a truck and saying, "C'mon, Melrin, let's go check it out. By the way, you fly like the wind god himself, kid! A real lightning runner." Which was the highest compliment a racer could be paid. Then the two were gone, heading down to investigate the crash.

Taryn waved once, then settled the swoop to the ground, removing the key and tucking it in his pocket. Wraith flew from his perch on the back of the seat. "I must see to my bondmate," he called and then he was gone.

Taryn hopped down off the swoop, preparing to follow the hawk when he caught sight of Qui-Gon bearing down on him like the angel of wrath. For one second he considered bolting like a hare, but then his chin came up defiantly and he remained where he was. He had faced Snakes and crazed Starhawks, he could face the Jedi Master. Even one as angry as Qui-Gon was.

Qui-Gon slowed, making certain the boy was safe and unharmed before he allowed his control to evaporate.

"TARYN JINN, ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR BLASTED MIND! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW WORRIED I'VE BEEN? WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? SNEAKING ABOARD THE PHANTOM LIKE THAT! YOU COULD HAVE BEEN KILLED. NOT TO MENTION THAT INSANE RACE YOU JUST COMPLETED! I NEARLY HAD HEART FAILURE, YOU RECKLESS IRRSPONSIBLE BRAT! WHEN WILL YOU LEARN TO DO WHAT YOU'RE TOLD?"

It was a moment before Taryn registered that not only was Qui-Gon scolding him, he was screaming at him as well. He had finally cracked the Jedi Master's disciplined control.

Swallowing sharply, the boy said, "Uh, I can explain, really I can. You see—"

"Never mind the excuses, young man. I'm not in the mood to listen to them," his uncle snapped. "This time you've gone too far. For once in your life I'm going to give you exactly what you deserve, you rebellious sneak."

Then Qui-Gon caught the boy by the arm and spun him around, giving him a sharp swat on the backside. "That's for breaking your word to me." He gave the boy a total of nine smacks in all. To his surprise, Taryn made no attempt to protest the punishment. He remained silent, sniffling only a little.

At last Qui-Gon drew back, regaining control over his temper. "Don't ever make me do that again."

"No, sir." Taryn said, blinking back tears. "Damn, but that hurts. But I did deserve it."

Qui-Gon was speechless. At last he said, "Did I hear you right? Because for a minute there I thought I heard you actually take responsibility for your actions."

"You did. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you worry. But I wanted to have one last adventure before I went back to school. I guess I didn't think about what I was doing."

"I'll say you didn't. When I found you gone, I almost went out of my mind, do you know that? I looked all over the city for you. And when I couldn't find you, I thought you'd been kidnapped or worse. You scared me half to death."

"I didn't think you'd care if I was gone." The boy muttered, looking down at the ground. "No one else ever has."

"Of course I care." Qui-Gon knelt down so he was on the same level as the boy. "You're my family. I love you like you were my own son, Taryn." Then he caught the astonished boy in a hug. "Even if you are a disobedient brat sometimes."

"Then you forgive me?"

"Always. But if you ever scare me like that again, young man, I'll strangle you." The Jedi Master sighed. "By all rights I ought to take that swoop from you. And lock you in your room until you're fifteen. But I won't."

"How come?"

"Because even rebellious brats like you deserve a second chance. I trust you've had your fill of adventure for some time."

"Actually, I was planning to hop a ride to Antares next week. I hear there are some riots there." The boy said impudently. Qui-Gon glared at him. "Just kidding. This adventure was enough for one summer."

"One summer!" his uncle exclaimed in dismay. "If you think I'm going to go through this for the next ten years, Taryn Jinn . . ."

"Only four, Uncle Qui-Gon." His nephew grinned. "Because when I'm fourteen I'm going to join the Starhawks and become an officer."

"You're going to what? But you can't even follow a single order of mine. If they'll even take you."

"Oh, they'll take me all right. After all, I just caught their traitor. Not to mention the fact that I retrieved the information the Commander needed from the Alliance databanks." He showed Qui-Gon the disk. "And Captain Draco says I'm definitely officer candidate material."

"He does?" Qui-Gon said, raising an eyebrow. "Well, I'd have to say . . .he was absolutely right. I'm proud of you, Taryn. You honor your House and your Name."

Taryn stared at him, his eyes wide. At last he stammered, "Do you really mean that?"

"On my honor as a Jedi Master."

The boy flung his arms about Qui-Gon's waist and whispered, "Thank you, Uncle Qui-Gon."

"You're welcome." He hugged the boy back. "Just promise me one thing. Next time you decide to run away, warn me beforehand. So I can die and get it over with."

Taryn grinned up at him. "I'll try. I'd promise you I'd be good, but I know better than to make promises I can't keep."

"Smart boy. Come on. I need to check on Ilaren and Kyra. And then you can tell me about your adventure."

"All right."

Together, the boy and his uncle walked toward the administration building. And for the first time in his life Taryn Jinn was truly happy. For at last he had found a place where he belonged and people who loved him in spite of his faults. He was no longer the irredeemable brat. Now he was a Starhawk, or he would be one day.

* * * * * *

Kyra awoke to her mother's hand on her forehead. For one moment she was unsure of where she was, what had happened to her. Then she remembered. "Mother!" she exclaimed, sitting up in the bed. "You're awake."

"And have been for two days now." Ilaren said, hugging her daughter. "For which I have you to thank, or so your father tells me."

"That's right. I healed you. And then I passed out."

"For three days. I didn't know this Force stuff was so draining on you." The Commander remarked.

"Only when you use it like I've been doing. To summon hurricanes and tornadoes to wreck ships and hangars and kill Alliance soldiers." Kyra said, her blue eyes suddenly filled with regret. "And heal nearly dead Starhawks. But it was worth it. Except the killing part."

"I know. I hate to kill too. But I do it when I have to. Like any Starhawk."

"Did Taryn give you the information about the invasion fleet?"

Ilaren nodded. "Yes. He helped me catch the traitor too. In one of the most incredible and terrifying swoop races Qui-Gon ever saw. We owe him a great debt."

"I know. Captain Draco says you should make him a Starhawk when he's old enough."

"Does he want that?"

"I think so."

"Hmmm. Draco's recommendations are usually reliable. And if he really wants to . . .I'll sponsor him myself."

Kyra blinked. "Why don't you make him your heir? It's your call, you can choose your own successor. Or not."

"Make that insolent brat my heir?" Ilaren cried. "I guess I could do worse. And he does fly like an ace."

"And shoot as good as Mikhail Sharpeyes," Kyra said, referring to the legendary Starhawk sharpshooter, who could hit an apple seed off a pine tree at two hundred paces and not miss a shot.

"I'll consider it. But I might not have to."

"What do you mean? I can't be your blade-heir, I'm a Windwalker. And unless I have another sibling you never told me about, the only other choice is Taryn."

"You don't have another sibling, not yet." Ilaren told her with a smile. "But maybe someday you will."

"Then you and Father have got back together?"

"We have."

"Yes!" Kyra shouted. Then she hugged her mother. "And you did it without help. I thought for sure that Father was going to need all the help he could get, since look what went wrong last time." She explained at her mother's puzzled glance.

Ilaren began to laugh. "No, little hawk, your father did quite well in that department. He hasn't forgotten anything that I can see, especially not when it comes to romance. Trust me on that."

Kyra grinned. "If you say so, Mom."

"Well, I'll let you get some rest." Ilaren rose. "There's still a few more cockroaches in the pantry that I need to stomp on. But between myself and the Jedi, I'm sure we can get them all."

"You mean there were more than just Androvak?"

Ilaren nodded. "But we'll find them."

"Have fun." She called after the Commander.

Then she settled back on her pillows, though she was not tired enough to sleep. Wraith was perched beside her, his head tucked under a wing, sleeping. She reached out to stroke the vorcel hawk's feathers.

"Oh, good. You're awake. The last two times I came here to see you, you were out cold," said a familiar voice.

Kyra looked up. "Hi, Scimitar."

Will Draco smiled and seated himself on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, I think. I'll be fine by tonight."

"Good because there's an award ceremony being held in your honor. Well, actually for you, me, and Taryn. For our mission on Fenwort 7. Looks like I missed out on the rest of the action though. You saving the Commander, Taryn nailing that bastard Androvak. It figures you get to have all the fun." He teased gently.

"Why? Where were you?"

For a long moment he remained silent. Then he said, "Would you believe I put the wrong coordinates into my nav computer? I hit a wrong number by mistake and I ended up about twelve light years away, in the back end of beyond." He admitted sheepishly.

"Are you telling me . . .you got lost?" Her shoulders began to shake uncontrollably as she began to laugh. "Gods in a circle! The mighty Scimitar, hero of Bantran Point, who can find his way through an asteroid field blindfolded . . .gets himself lost on his way home to Hawk Haven!" She laughed so hard she nearly cried. "That's the funniest thing I've ever heard!"

"Well, I'm glad you think so." Draco scowled. "I didn't think it was so damn amusing."

She managed to stop laughing. "Oh, don't be such a grouch. If it had been anyone else, you'd have laughed your ass off, and you know it, Will."

"I guess you're right," he said, and grinned at her, unable to remain angry with her. "I did feel pretty stupid though."

"Join the club. Like the rest of us mortals." Kyra said with a wicked grin.

"Anyone ever tell you that you have a smart mouth?"

"As if you can talk, Draco. You've the smartest mouth on the planet."

"I know. It's part of my charm," he said, then he bent his head and kissed her.

For one moment, Kyra was startled, but then she kissed him back.

"That's for saving my life," he said. "Uh, don't tell your mother I just did that. She'd kick my ass."

"No she wouldn't. Because I wouldn't let her."

"Good. Then as soon as you're well, would you like to go out and have dinner with me?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Kyra answered.

"I wasn't sure if I would like the answer. And after you went away . . .I didn't think I would ever see you again."

"And now?"

"Now I think I should take each day as it comes and worry about tomorrow later. What do you think, Kyra?"

"I think you're a smartass, Scimitar. But I love you anyway." Then she kissed him back.

* * * * * *

That night they were awarded the Medal of Valor, the highest honor a Starhawk could ever receive, a gleaming gold four-pointed star with a silver hawk holding a sword in its talons etched in it. That moment was Taryn Jinn's crowning glory.

Although, as he told Qui-Gon a day later, it did not mark the end of the adventure. For there was still the Blood Serpent Alliance fleet to settle with.

Qui-Gon gave him a measuring look, from around the stack of books in his arms, which he carried into the boy's room and set on the desk. "Don't even think about it."

"Come on. I'm an honorary Starhawk now, you heard what the Commander said." Taryn protested.

"Honorary Starhawk or not, you have schoolwork to do." The Jedi reminded him, indicating the stack of books on the desk.

"All that? I'll be stuck in here until next year trying to do all that."

"I know." The other said with a sly grin. "That's the idea."

"You're as sneaky as a card shark with an ace up his sleeve."

"I have to be, just to keep up with you."

"Look, I'll make you a deal. If I finish all this before you deal with the invasion fleet, I can go with you."

"Taryn! I thought we agreed, no more deals."

"I thought it was worth a try."

"You're impossible."

"Well, someone in this family has to be."

"Just be quiet and do your homework."

"Is that an order?"

"Yes."

"Then I guess I'd better do what I'm told," he said, for one of the first rules a Starhawk cadet learned was discipline and obeying your commanding officer. And Taryn was going to be one of the best Starhawks ever. For himself and his family.

Qui-Gon hid a smile and turned to walk out of the room. The shimmering Medal of Valor hung on the wall caught his eye, reminding him that there was more to this dark-haired imp than met the eye. It's too bad you never realized that, my brother. Someday he'll be a true Starhawk officer. Assuming he makes it through adolescence, that is. The Jedi Master bit back a sigh. Then he recalled the old saying that the gods don't give you more than you can handle. And he wondered who they thought he was, a hero out of legend? Either that or they have a terrible sense of humor.

**How did you like the ending? Was Qui-Gon's treatment of Taryn fair? Okay, people, let me know if you want to see a sequel with more of Kyra, Taryn, Will, Qui-Gon, Ilaren, and Obi-Wan. Oh and Wraith too! And you can leave a review too . . .don't be shy!**


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